Every day is different: why we love working in adult social care

Staff supporting a new national campaign are encouraging potential new recruits to consider social care as a career choice.

The “Every day is different, when you care” campaign, led by the Department of Health and Social Care, aims to help drive people towards the 110,000 vacancies in the adult social care sector.

Every day is different when you care – campaign

‘Every day is different’ will showcase how rewarding social care careers can be, with a huge array of opportunities for progression and professional development: 96% of care professionals feel their work makes a difference to people’s lives. The campaign aims to:

• Attract new people with the right values to the sector and increase interest in adult social care as a vocation.
• Highlight the array of job roles, with an initial focus on direct care roles such as care workers, where there is the most demand.
• Equip the sector with the marketing tools to support the campaign and advice to recruit the right people and help retain staff, to address a high turnover rate.

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There is more to adult social care than meets the eye. The sector offers an extremely varied and rewarding profession with opportunities to suit every type of carer. The ‘Every day is different, when you care’ campaign will help people understand more about adult social care, mitigate any myths they have about the sector, and help them explore whether a job in social care would be right for them.

In adult social care, no two days are the same. From care worker to director, social care attracts all kinds of people with one thing in common – a desire to help make a difference every day. But don’t take our word for it – take a look at what our staff and those who we support have to say.

START team

Over 1.45 million people work in the adult social care sector currently, but it is predicted an additional 650,000 workers will be needed by 2035, to keep up with the rising numbers of people aged 65 and over.

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In the West Midlands alone, it is estimated that the sector employs more people in the region than are employed in the automotive industry across the UK.

Andy Begley, Shropshire Council’s director for adult social care and housing, said:

“Adult social care plays a crucial role in enabling people to maintain their independence, stay safe and well for longer and live purposeful lives.

“We are proud in Shropshire to have highly professional, caring and loyal staff, so much so that their dedication and commitment to their work has been nationally recognised. Our teams have won several Team of the Year awards a ‘Breaking down barriers award’ and recognition for our Buy2Live housing scheme. We’ve also been currently shortlisted for five awards in the public sector and rated ‘Good’ for our START service.

“This is a very productive and exciting time in adult social care. The rapidly-growing sector continues to evolve and transform in creative and innovative ways, bringing exciting new job vacancies and lots of opportunities to develop and progress. There’s never been a more exciting time to be part of this vibrant and dynamic sector.

“Also over the past 12 months, we have been looking at ‘flipping’ adult social care so that it is not seen as a drain but a key driver in the region’s economy. The sector is also one of the biggest employers in the country, by some estimates employing more people than the NHS, and contributes literally billions of pounds to the West Midlands’ economy, and demand for its services will grow and grow for the foreseeable future.

“We are delighted to be supporting the ‘Every day is different, when you care’ campaign to encourage and inspire the right people with the right values to either return or take their first steps towards an enormously successful and rewarding career. I strongly encourage people across Shropshire to see what great career prospects, and opportunities for progression there is in social care across the county.”

Left to right: Andy Begley – Shropshire Council’s director of adult social care and housing; Deb Edwards – Team manager ICS acute; Becky Waterworth – Social worker ICS; Anita Gikiri – Social worker ICS; Louise Phillips – Social care practitioner; Tanya Miles – Shropshire Council’s head of adult social care; Lee Chapman – Shropshire Council’s Cabinet Member for adult services, health and social housing; Jane Tait – Team manager ICS community; Bobby Flannagan – independent care home assessor ( SCHT); Sarah Robinson – Clinical Commissioning Group commissioner; Jon Richards, Head of Education and Local Government at award sponsor UNISON.

Above: Our joint Integrated Community Service (ICS) team, voted team of the year at the recent at the Social Worker of the Year Awards.

If you’re a kind, compassionate person who’d like to make a difference to people’s lives, then social care could be the right career for you. Take a look at our vision and values or take part in the ‘Every day is different when you care’ quiz to see if social care is right for you.

Whether you’re starting a career or returning to social care, come and join our award winning teams and see how working with us can help you build on the skills you have and learn new ones.

Visit our adult social care jobs webpage and current vacancies we have on offer at www.shropshire.gov.uk/adult-social-care-jobs.

For more information about ‘Every day is different, when you care’ visit www.everydayisdifferent.com.