James Culley

After working as a team leader I made the switch from domiciliary care to a newly built rehabilitation centre, which supported people who for example may have broken their hip and need a period of rehabilitation to help them gain their confidence again before returning home. As a senior care worker I had the responsibility of leading the shift I was working, I supervised a small team of staff to support and care for the 15 services users that were within the centre. Other duties included administering medication on a daily basis, assessing and admitting new service users and attending multi disciplinary team meetings. Multi disciplinary team meetings were held on a weekly basis and were attended by G.P's, social workers, district nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacist and the senior care worker in charge of that shift. I really enjoyed the meetings as it was a chance to learn from different people in different care settings.

During my time working with the rehabilitation centre I undertook an NVQ level 3 in Health & Social care, this would enable me to progress with my career and start to looks for supervision and managerial roles.

I was then given the opportunity to move back into domiciliary care as a care coordinator, I had many different duties but saw this as a real opportunity to develop and progress. I line managed a team of approx 40 staff, this included undertaking staff supervisions and appraisals, producing staff rosters, attending service user reviews and conducting assessments. The role as a care coordinator was very tasking and different challenges arose on a daily basis but that is what made the job really interesting.

During my time as a care coordinator I started to become really interested in the business and information technology side of the company and moved into a new role. I became a business & development coordinator. Within this role had to generate new business for the company and really concentrate on recruitment. Recruitment has always been a very difficult task within health & social care, so I had to look at and alter our recruitment process in order to generate more staff. Although I do not provide care first hand anymore I feel working within a business and development role enables the company I work for to employ the correct people to provide the best care possible to the people who really need it "the service users".

Anna Jefferies

I am Anna Jefferies, 42 and currently working as Acting Deputy Team Manager in the Cirencester Community and Adult Care Team.  I started in 1988 as a care assistant in a care home for older people, moving to Assistant Officer-in-Charge and then Relief Residential Care Officer (a peripatetic role covering all residential care homes in the Bath/Wansdyke area).  Following the introduction of the Community Care Act many of the local authority homes were closed down and I was redeployed to Bristol as a Home Care Team Leader.  I left in 1999 to do my Social Work degree at Bath University and following that worked in the Community Team for People with Learning Disabilities in Trowbridge before accepting a part-time SW position at Cirencester Hospital.  I moved to the local Community Team in 2005.

I enjoy the variety in social care: because we work with individuals each piece of work is different, although the skills we develop through training and experience are always in use, there are diverse challenges requiring good problem solving abilities, mediation skills and an adaptable approach as well as the opportunity to interact with other professionals and partnership agencies.   

I am a relatively new Care Ambassador and have only attended one event so far, but it was great to meet young people interested in a career in care and share my experiences with them.

Janette Campbell

I am Janette Campbell, age 51 years and currently working as a Fieldwork Support Assistant.  I am currently on secondment from the Corporate Contact Centre - first point of contact for social care referrals in the County for Children and Adults.  I have also worked in education, with domestic violence and personally provide care for family members, so I understand the importance of what it means to have support and input from the care sector.

What I enjoy most about working in care is making a difference in enabling people to lead independent lives by providing services and information and support from sources outside my own working environment.

What I enjoy most about being a Care Ambassador is being able to promote the opportunities of working in the care sector and the impact this has on the lives of those being cared for and their families and the sense of achievement and satisfaction that my job gives me.

Mavis Gardner

My name is Mavis Gardner and am over 21 years of age.  My current job is Area Manager for residential care for Gloucestershire Community Care Group.  Before taking up this role last year I was a Registered Manager of a 9 bedded challenging behaviour unit for Gloucestershire Community Care Group.

The thing I most enjoy is the client group I work with.  I have always found them to be the most honest caring group of people anyone could wish to work with.  There are many aspects I enjoy but the one I have found really interesting is talking to people who are not the most academic and getting them to realise that they have many pathways that they can go down to attain a rewarding career.

Elizabeth Pollock

I am Elizabeth Pollock and my current role is a Day Care Coordinator.  My previous care roles have been a qualified nurse.  I get tremendous satisfaction knowing that I have made a great difference to peoples' lives each and every day.  In my current job many of my clients have no social life and often feel very isolated and are vulnerable.  They attend our day centre weekly and it is the highlight of their week; they have made friends with other clients and are always extremely grateful for anything you do.  Not a day goes by without you being thanked.

What I enjoy most about being a Care Ambassador is telling young people what a rewarding career it is to work within the care sector.  If you truly believe in your work and thoroughly enjoy it then the enthusiasm will filter through and people will want to work in care also.