"Having a Care Ambassador on the staff has brought us more good publicity than any paid advertising could ever have done"

There are many benefits to having Care Ambassadors among the workforce. They:

• Continually promote their own organisation as well as the sector as a whole
• Can be an organisation's best recruitment tool by being a direct link to the future workforce
• Promote learning and development and good practice among their colleagues
• Act as mentors and role models within their own workplace
• Link with schools, colleges, and employment agencies, facilitating creative programmes of work experience and taster sessions
• Are seen as an organisation's ‘shop window' when welcoming relatives and guests
• Gain in confidence, ability, and communication skills which are of value to their employer

If you have a potential Care Ambassador among your staff, get in touch with your local Project Co-ordinator.

Case study

One of first students inspired by Care Ambassadors chooses career in social care

Ayeisha Strong, 18, was attracted to working in social care when a Care Ambassador visited her school five years ago.

"The Care Ambassador gave a talk about what it meant to work in the care profession and how rewarding it could be," says Ayeisha. "I had already worked with children, but this helped me to think about adult care. It was great to get help from outside school, from someone close to my age, and consider the different directions I could take."

Ayeisha decided that social care was a career with a future, and to complete her portfolio as part of a health and social care course she took a Saturday job at The Old Vicarage Residential Home in Leigh, near Sherborne, commencing full-time employment as a care assistant on leaving school a year ago. She is now working towards NVQ Level 2.

Emily Rowe, the Care Ambassador who spoke at Ayeisha's school, is now her supervisor and mentor. Emily, 22, says "There was no information about social care as a career option when I was at school, and I am pleased to be a Care Ambassador and take my knowledge of my work back into schools to show students that this is a career worth thinking about."

"This is the sort of job where you go home from work feeling that you have done something good" says Ayeisha. "I am very keen to continue learning and building up qualifications. The Care Ambassadors are brilliant role models, and I have seen from their example how far you can go in this profession."

Why the Scheme is needed

• Current recruitment and retention difficulties.
• Changing long standing negative perceptions of social care as a career.
• An ageing population
• The encouragement of younger people to enter a career in social care.
• The huge growth and demand for services.
• The increasing range in the dependency of service users.
• Meeting demands of the new training requirements under the Care Standards Act.
• To Increase the social care future workforce

Care Ambassadors across the South West

"Thousands of students and jobseekers reached so far - many more to go!"

There are seven Care Ambassador projects in the region, and project co-ordinators and Ambassadors contribute to a regional network to share good practice and resources.

If you would like contact details for your local regional co-ordinator then please select your region from the left menu and select contact under the sub-menu.