Why should I work in Care?

With the social care sector facing the biggest recruitment crisis in its history, we're here to remind people of why care work is so important, and what you can achieve from a career in social care. 

A recent report conducted by Skills for Care has identified several changes to the adult social care workforce during or because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, there was a 7.4% increase in domiciliary care jobs during the pandemic, and while vacancy rates initially fell during the closure of the wider economy, they are now above pre-pandemic levels. Recruitment and retention have been  difficult following COVID-19, particularly in the East of England. We feel the Skills for Care report accurately reflects the difficulties we have been facing across the entire Homecare sector. 

Now more than ever, we are trying to entice people back into the social care and Homecare industries, as it is essential that we continue to support the most vulnerable in our communities. There are many misconceptions about what working as a CareGiver entails, such as it being classed as low-skilled and having few opportunities for progression. We would like to change the way people think about CareGiving, by beginning to disprove these harmful stereotypes.  

The Skills

We find it incredibly disappointing that the English Government continues to label care work as unskilled, as we strongly believe that this is not the case. 

We provide paid, comprehensive training and shadowing before you start your role in care, which allows you to fully understand the physical and logistic skills required for the role, as well as develop further enviable skills in communication, empathy, and compassion.

The ability to handle medication, understanding the complex needs of others, knowing how to preserve a persons’ dignity and supporting those with long term health conditions like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s are all extremely valuable skills and qualities, which in our opinion makes the role even more rewarding.

The Opportunities

Working in care continues to offer opportunities for progression and for achieving further qualifications.

We encourage and support our family of CareGivers to undertake and participate in specialised training opportunities, such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s training.

Furthermore, we support our caregivers to push themselves and achieve further qualifications in health and social care.

The Misconceptions

There are many misconceptions about what is involved in a career in care. Many believe that is a job strictly limited to providing personal care, but this is not the case. Often, CareGivers have a mix of companionship and personal care calls, meaning that their days are pleasant, varied and rewarding. Care is also not confined to working with the elderly; we are available to support clients over the age of 18.

Many of our CareGivers joined us from having little to no experience working in Care and have been impressed at the variety of work they do. One of our newest CareGivers, Karen, often mentions how much she laughs during her many companionship calls with clients: “...my sides hurt from laughing after I leave!”.

The Rewards 

Aside from being a fulfilling and rewarding role, there are also several benefits to working in care. These include holiday pay, pension schemes, mileage, ongoing training opportunities, flexible hours, the opportunity to meet and work with people and to join a family-feel business who are always on hand to support you.