Carers recruitment drive launched

A new TV advertising campaign which shows how rewarding a career in social care can be has been launched by the government.

Currently, over 1.5 million people are employed in the adult social care sector in England, and as many as 200,000 jobs in the sector are expected to be advertised in the coming year.

The recruitment drive comes as new survey reveals more than one in three people would consider switching into a career in social care, especially in younger age groups.

In the three adverts, actual care workers talk about what makes their job special.

Laura, a care worker who supports Joe, who has learning disabilities, explains that when she goes home, she is happy to know that she has made a real difference.

David Taylor, 23, who works as a care assistant in Mansfield having decided to leave a career in fashion and move into in social care, said: “Moving into social care is one of the best things I’ve done. Every day is different and I work with an amazing and inspiring team of people.

"Whilst you do get the odd hard day on the job, every time I go in to work and see the smiles on the faces of the people I help, and knowing they’re waiting for me to come in makes the job worthwhile. It’s given me more confidence in myself and I’ve just completed an NVQ3.”

With more people living longer than ever before, demand for social care is predicted to steadily increase.

Care Services Minister Phil Hope said: “Careers offer flexible working hours and opportunities for further training and qualifications such as NVQ's.

"With the number of people who may need help with day-to-day tasks set to grow, this is a sector that will offer an increasing number of opportunities for those looking for jobs or a new career.

“Our campaign shows that workers in social care have a big positive impact on the people they work with.”

The TV and print advertising campaign is supported by a series of face-to-face events across the country that encourage people to come along and find out more about the range of jobs available.

More information

To find out more about the full list of events across the country visit www.socialcareers.co.uk

This article was published on Tue 16 March 2010