Is a career in social care right for you?
The social care sector can provide extremely rewarding job opportunities – and with a national shortage in many of the required roles, it can be easier than you think to get the position of your dreams.
Social care involves looking after vulnerable people in our society, with roles including that of social worker, occupational therapist, counsellor, residential care worker and advocate. There are a number of different areas of social care, including adoption and fostering, housing. substance and drug misuse and working with asylum seekers.
One of the main credentials you need to work in the social care field is a commitment to helping other people. You may find yourself working with elderly people, those with learning difficulties or children from damaging backgrounds, so it's vital that you are passionate about doing what you can to help others who are in difficult circumstances.
You don't always need to have top flight qualifications to work in social care, so if you left school with just a handful of GCSEs it doesn't necessarily mean that you can't get into this field. In fact, it is often more important to employers that a candidate has life experience rather than book smarts.
Many organisations and authorities also provide training opportunities such as apprenticeships and pre-employment programmes which cover skills relevant to social care. Going down such avenues can help you decide whether a career in social care is right for you before you make a firm commitment.
According to direct.gov.uk, there are many advantages to working in the social care sector, such as excellent opportunities for growth like specialising in a particular type of service, or with children, for example. The sector also provides varied working conditions – it's very unlikely that you'll be chained to a desk all week. Rather, you'll be out and about, visiting people in their homes or working in a care home or nursery.
Another huge plus point is that no matter where you are in the country, social care jobs will exist. It isn't like wanting to work in the media and being forced to leave your sleepy Welsh village for the bright lights of London– there will be a suitable care service in Essex, Aberdeen, Scarborough, Skegness, Belfast, Pontypridd and all over the rest of the UK!
Social care salaries range from £18,000 as a personal assistant to £32,000 if you are in a senior social worker position. For an assistant service manager, you could be earning up to £42,000 a year, so the common misconception that social care is a poorly paid job is certainly not the case.
It's never too late to consider a role in social care – many employees move into the sector as a second career after having children or making a lifestyle change. So whether it's an Essex care service you're interested in or a social care opportunity in Bournemouth, the right job for you is bound to be out there for the taking. Why not make 2012 the year you make the change you've been dreaming of ?
Eldery Care Essex
Social care involves looking after vulnerable people in our society, with roles including that of social worker, occupational therapist, counsellor, residential care worker and advocate. There are a number of different areas of social care, including adoption and fostering, housing. substance and drug misuse and working with asylum seekers.
One of the main credentials you need to work in the social care field is a commitment to helping other people. You may find yourself working with elderly people, those with learning difficulties or children from damaging backgrounds, so it's vital that you are passionate about doing what you can to help others who are in difficult circumstances.
You don't always need to have top flight qualifications to work in social care, so if you left school with just a handful of GCSEs it doesn't necessarily mean that you can't get into this field. In fact, it is often more important to employers that a candidate has life experience rather than book smarts.
Many organisations and authorities also provide training opportunities such as apprenticeships and pre-employment programmes which cover skills relevant to social care. Going down such avenues can help you decide whether a career in social care is right for you before you make a firm commitment.
According to direct.gov.uk, there are many advantages to working in the social care sector, such as excellent opportunities for growth like specialising in a particular type of service, or with children, for example. The sector also provides varied working conditions – it's very unlikely that you'll be chained to a desk all week. Rather, you'll be out and about, visiting people in their homes or working in a care home or nursery.
Another huge plus point is that no matter where you are in the country, social care jobs will exist. It isn't like wanting to work in the media and being forced to leave your sleepy Welsh village for the bright lights of London– there will be a suitable care service in Essex, Aberdeen, Scarborough, Skegness, Belfast, Pontypridd and all over the rest of the UK!
Social care salaries range from £18,000 as a personal assistant to £32,000 if you are in a senior social worker position. For an assistant service manager, you could be earning up to £42,000 a year, so the common misconception that social care is a poorly paid job is certainly not the case.
It's never too late to consider a role in social care – many employees move into the sector as a second career after having children or making a lifestyle change. So whether it's an Essex care service you're interested in or a social care opportunity in Bournemouth, the right job for you is bound to be out there for the taking. Why not make 2012 the year you make the change you've been dreaming of ?
Eldery Care Essex
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