Career progression

When Caremark Managing Director Michelle Jackson talks about career progression she does so from a position of experience.
Michelle began her working life as a carer and has risen to be Managing Director of Caremark Redcar and Cleveland, overseeing some 370 staff who provide care for nearly 600 local residents.
“We’ve always run the business along the lines that if you treat people well, offer them career progression and the chance for continuous professional development they are more likely to stay and deliver better care,” said Michelle.
“That’s good for the staff member, the company and most importantly the clients.”
The company provides all staff with initial and regular in-house training and the opportunity to gain professional qualifications right through from entry level to senior management roles.
After three months with Caremark, staff can commit to learn while they earn and gain ascending levels of diplomas in Health and Social Care.
“It is a commitment on both sides,” said Michelle. “It is up to 18 months of learning and will include some of their own time. We will support as much as we can and once started the work for the qualification has to be completed otherwise we as a company get fined.”
Caremark uses a north-east based company, Vision Training, to oversee courses for nationally-recognised professional qualifications.
Michelle appreciates how Vision Training has made efforts to understand the sector. They understand that people of all ages and backgrounds become carers and this could be straight from college or it might be following a mid-life career change.
“People that join us have a great many attributes. They often have great one to one personal skills, life experience and transferable skills, they are caring and dedicated but they can also sometimes be a little afraid of exams and studying for a variety of reasons,” said Michelle.
“Vision Training understand that and are flexible in their approach. They will come out at weekends or evenings to assess staff whose hours might, for example, have to work around their children.”
Michelle added: “These initial qualifications are to ensure you reach the standards required and become a better and more confident carer. They are geared towards practical delivery rather than sitting in an exam hall.”
There is also the opportunity to gain higher qualifications and progress to management roles. Recently two staff, Yvonne Jones and Danielle Duffy, successfully gained a level 4 NCFE Lead Practitioner in Adult Care qualification following two years of hard work.
The course covered leadership and management and included mentoring, understanding relevant legislation and the requirements of the care sector watchdog the CQC, reflection, advanced care planning and quality assurance.
Vision Training Director Carol Doherty spoke highly of the pair.
“This is a demanding qualification requiring eight hours commitment a week to study and includes practical delivery, observation and professional discussion. It is a significant achievement for the individuals and demonstrates the company’s commitment to ensuring staff at all levels have access to high quality, up to date, professional development.”
Yvonne has also completed a level 4 NCFE Apprenticeship in Leadership and Management and this combined with her accountancy proficiency has seen her covering finance for a colleague on maternity leave.
“I found the apprenticeship very useful, in particular the importance of reflection. Admin in the care sector can sometimes appear overwhelming and this helped me understand why all the checks and legislation are necessary,” she says.
Michelle says encouraging career progression is one way of trying to retain staff in a sector where the vast majority of clients are funded, at least in part, by local authorities and as a result carers are paid national living wage salaries. Michelle, and the care sector as a whole, continue to call for better pay for carers whilst striving to provide the best care possible with the resources available.
“The reality is you won’t get rich being a carer but there are few other roles which are as rewarding in terms of job satisfaction and actually making a difference to people lives,” says Michelle.
“We like to see all our staff as part of the Caremark family and will be as flexible as we can to accommodate their differing circumstances. Many of the management team started as carers so hopefully that demonstrates to people who join that there is a career progression path here.”
Michelle also believes that the hands-on, care delivery experience of the management team ensures they are people-focused in their approach and can understand and empathise with the challenges facing clients and their families as well as the home care support team.
Whatever your stage of life, if you are looking for a rewarding role that makes a real difference to people’s lives and provides the opportunity for career progression why not give Caremark a call?