A PROVIDER of home care for elderly and vulnerable people in Sunderland is urging job seekers to consider careers in care, as it continues to grow across the city.
Thorncliffe Home Care Ltd, based at the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC), is currently recruiting for 12 full and part-time roles following a spike in demand for home care provision during the pandemic.
The company, which was founded 11 years ago, now employs almost 100 people and provides a range of tailored personal care services to service users across the city.
In the UK, the number of people receiving domiciliary care has risen year-on-year and now stands at over 950,000 following the pandemic, as vulnerable and elderly people seek support in their own homes, with providers they can trust.
However, as demand for home care continues to rise and as the UK’s 85+ population gets set to double to 3.2 million by 2041 and treble by 2066, the need for home care is only going to increase further, and Thorncliffe is urging those who may not have previously considered a career in care to think about switching to ‘a really rewarding career’.
Philip Longmore, director at Thorncliffe Home Care, said: “A lot of people think of careers in care as simply ‘a job to get by’ but they couldn’t be any further from the truth.
“A career in care is incredibly rewarding, allowing you to make a valuable contribution not only to society, but to people’s lives, and our staff are usually the first to shout about the many benefits that come with working in the industry.
“As an independent provider of care, we have also been fortunate enough to establish a workplace culture which fosters personal development, with training given to all staff when they start with us and benefiting from countless opportunities to progress throughout the company.
“However, we know we need to do more as an industry to attract people to the sector, which is why we’re urging people from all industries to really consider a career in care. In the past, we’ve had a host of people from customer service industries such as retail and hospitality join us and they tend to be amazed by how quickly they learn the ropes.
“For anyone with experience in customer service – or who simply enjoy working with people – there really are so many fantastic opportunities to establish a career in care and I’d urge anyone considering a career change to contact us and find out more about the roles on offer.”
One employee that decided to make the switch from a corporate life to a career in care was Thorncliffe’s Senior Home Care Assistant, Patsy Noonan. Following a career spanning 10 years in business, she joined Thorncliffe in 2017 and hasn’t looked back since.
Speaking about her experience, she said: “It took a lot of persuading for me to join Thorncliffe at first as there are just so many false pre-conceptions of the industry, such as long hours but the reality is completely different. Since hanging up my corporate uniform, I’ve loved every minute of it.
“We always focus our energy and resources on delivering the best possible care we can, meaning we can provide the best possible service to our clients, while our staff benefit from a fantastic work-life balance. I now wake up every morning knowing that I’m making a real difference to people’s lives and it’s honestly the best career move I’ve ever made.”