Moving forward

I was 19 when I applied to work at the Trust at the start of this year. I was on furlough from my job in retail, so it felt like a good time to step back and think about the career path that I wanted to take. An advert for a Support Worker at the Trust grabbed my attention. Working in social care seemed like something that could be rewarding and the Trust’s website highlighted the development opportunities that they offered.

The role was at Kilvie House, a home for adults with learning disabilities. The people we support have highly complex needs and require support with mobility and feeding. This makes the work quite demanding, but thankfully I was eased into my role and allowed to build up my skills gradually. There were a lot of experienced staff members on my team and I felt really well supported by them.

After just eight months in the job, I was encouraged to apply for an Assistant Team Leader role at the service. It would involve more responsibility, including supervising other staff and making sure medicine is administered correctly, but it seemed like a really interesting development opportunity.

My application was successful and I started in the new role just a few weeks ago. My manager was great in helping me to feel ready to step up. We had regular meetings prior to my starting as Assistant Team Leader, where we talked about different aspects of the job and what to expect. I also went on an induction week alongside other new Assistant Team Leaders. It was really helpful to have a week away from my regular work and receive training on different aspects of my new role.

Working at the Trust has been great for me. I’m part of a really good team in which everyone is really committed to helping the people we support. I don’t think I would have been able to progress this quickly in other organisations in the care sector and I hope I can keep on moving forward. If someone is thinking about applying for a job here, I’d say ‘go for it’. If you’re motivated and you have the right attitude, the Trust will give you opportunities and you can develop quickly.

Work for us
Sign up to our recruitment e-newsletter
Find out more about Kilvie House