What makes someone to consider a career in social care? For many people, it might just be having the opportunity to see what working in care is really like.
In a recent BBC Radio 4 interview, Paul Sager raised an interesting idea for discussion. Based on his own experience of receiving care, Paul suggests that, before starting university, young people could be given the opportunity to volunteer in the care sector for at least one year, in return for a reduction in their future university tuition fees. Paul’s proposal, could be a starting point for a bigger conversation about how volunteering could introduce young people to social care, help them develop valuable skills and possibly inspire them to consider care careers.
Sagar has personal experience of round the clock care after a rock-climbing accident left him paralysed from the neck down, since the accident he has been fully reliant on carers. His experiences give an interesting starting point for a wider conversation about care, volunteering and how people discover care careers.
Could Volunteering Provide a Route into Social Care?
For a young person considering their future, volunteering as a career could provide valuable insight into what the role actually involves.
Care is all about people. Spending time caring for others helps to build communication skills, empathy, patience, responsibility and an understanding of individual needs.
It might also introduce young people to a career they may not have thought about before.
Of course, entering a care environment requires more than just enthusiasm and a willingness to help. Volunteers and new care workers need good supervision, clear responsibilities and high-quality health and social care training.
Why Social Care Training Matters
Providing safe and respectful care needs an understanding of important areas including safeguarding vulnerable adults, privacy and dignity, communication, infection prevention and control and person-centred care.
For those beginning their journey, Care Certificate training can help develop essential knowledge across areas including mental health awareness, basic life support and infection prevention and control training.
Starting a Conversation About Careers in Care
The idea raised in the BBC interview provides an opportunity for a wider discussion.
Could volunteering in social care encourage more young people to consider it as a career? Could caring help young people learn transferable skills even if they go on to choose a different profession? And could experiencing care first-hand help build a better understanding of the work carers do every day?
There may be different views on the best approach, but giving people an opportunity to understand social care can only help them make more informed career choices.
For anyone who does decide to pursue a role in the sector, effective care worker training and continued learning can help provide the knowledge and confidence needed to deliver safe, compassionate and person-centred care.
