Welcome to Careers in Care the Care Ambassador Scheme run by Care Learning for the West of England. This covers the areas of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. Care Learning is an employer partnership supporting the social care sector with workforce development.

This section covers the scheme in the West of England, for general information, please click the home button above to go to the South West section.

The Care Ambassador Scheme was established in this area in 2005 and has developed over the years in many ways. Caroline Tarbuck is the Project Co-ordinator for the scheme, having taken over from Emma Torregiani in December 2007.

We are pleased to have over 30 Care Ambassadors from 20 varied care establishments, including 6 males and 3 from the children's sector. We work with over 50 schools and colleges across the 4 local authorities.

This academic year (2008/09) has seen our busiest ever term, we have covered more than 40 events in four months and anticipate this growth continuing as the scheme's profile is raised and schools rely upon our services.  The new Society, Health and Development Diploma being rolled out across the region will place a higher demand on the services of the Care Ambassadors, and indeed employers through the work related element of the diploma.

To visit the Skills for Care - Career Pathways website click here
or visit: http://careerpathways.skillsforcare.org.uk

Care Learning Conference 2008 at BAWA - from left to right: Gracey Boddy, Diane Piekarski, Caroline Tarbuck (Project Co-ordinator), Sue Everett and Linda Marsh

Care Ambassador Training Session on 29 April 2008

From left to right: Ann Carter (CA Train the Trainer), Kat Blacha, Lucy Woodruff, Jane Stephenson, Edwina Loxton, Elena Bratu. Charlotte Clark and Ian Pope (CA Train the Trainer)

Academic Year 2008 - 2009

The West of England project has had a wonderful year engaging with some really diverse events involving, for the first time, our primary age children.  Ablaze have run a project called 'My Future My Choice, whose aim has been to engage Year 5/6 children in looking at what people do for a career.  Its aim has been to promote key messages around stereotyping, 'famous' equalling success, broadening horizons of careers and opportunities in preparation for secondary school and choices they may then make in Year 9.

We have also been engaged with Job Centre Plus and our Care Ambassadors have run sessions at both North Somerset Jobs Fair on 20 March 2009 and at the Bristol Care Jobs Fair on 18 June 2009.  Over 80 people came to our stand in Weston in a four hour period, our three Care Ambassadors and myself were kept very busy with a wide variety of questions.

Society, Health & Developmetn Diploma - Our work with the Kingswood Partnership (South Glos schools) and in September 2009 with North Somerset (Weston College) continues to grow.  We aim to link in with as many Care Managers as possible across these areas to engage them in a range of opportunties for the students participating in the didploma.  These can include taster sessions, focus sessions, talks in schools, visits by students to Open Days or resources.  I am hoping to build a resource library and will ask our main care providers to send to me DVD's, posters, brochures and documentation, policies and photographs that schools can use.  We also hope that some of our service users will  be able to visit schools (where appropriate) to help dispell some of the myths that exist especially in mental health and learning disabilities.

Our schools have been very active this year with Careers and Jobs Fairs and our Care Ambassadors have been able to offer positive messages to young people about a career in social care.