WHEN Karin von Bismarck arrived in York, the city where her husband, Michael, had come to work for Nestl, she looked for an au pair agency and couldn't find one. So she started her own.

There were few more qualified. She had been a former au pair herself and was now the mother of four children. She has a doctorate in business from Gttingen University in Germany. And she knew only too well the demand for good quality childcare and domestic help.

Now Family Au Pair Agency & Services has a new office in Precentor's Court right next to York Minister and places au pairs from all over Europe with families throughout the UK - and vice versa. Now she is pitching for the Small Business of the Year title in the 2004 Evening Press Business of the Year awards.

Unlike other agencies in Britain which keep au pairs on their books then send them out to any request, Karin caters for the families for whom an individual search for a fitting au pair is undertaken, with careful screening and personal interviews.

Short lists are drawn up so the families can personally interview the au pairs in whom they are interested, a procedure which, she says, guarantees excellent matches.

Karin believes that her agency is the only one in Yorkshire, and perhaps even the UK, which places au pairs for as short as four weeks, which means that school holidays and maternity requirements can be catered for.

Family Au Pair and Services also sends British au pairs to Europe, with the help of links established with 50 agencies throughout Europe plus close partnerships with other agencies.

She says: "For just £50 a week pocket money an au pair will provide 25 to 30 hours per week to childcare, preparing meals, helping with the housework and doing extra babysitting two to three times per week.

"Young people work as an au pair for a lot of reasons, but it is definitely not money that is the most important. They become au pairs because they love children, want to gain experience in a different culture, learn the language and experience life in another country."

Updated: 10:02 Thursday, July 08, 2004