Kerry Duley has told how she swapped cutting hair for delivering care and set out on a rewarding new career path.
She has spoken of her job swap along with other workers sharing their experiences of the role and asking others to consider the rewarding career.
A special event has been arranged by West Sussex County Council to give those living in and around Selsey the opportunity to meet care providers, find out about roles available and even apply for jobs.
This will take place on Saturday 14 October from 10am-12pm at Chaplins Coffee Shop, 103 High Street, Selsey, PO20 0QL.
Kerry, who lives in Selsey, was a hairdresser before swapping careers to become a domiciliary care coordinator. She said: “I’ve built a really good career out of it. I’ve done lots of training, gained qualifications and it’s a really good career path now.
“There’s a stigma attached to care work but you can use it as a platform to build a career on. You can go into nursing, social work – all sorts of things once you’ve got your social care qualifications.”
Fellow care worker, Karen Halford, a care home registered manager who lives in Selsey, said what makes the job special was the people.
She said: “It’s a lovely place to be. The residents appreciate what we do for them and when you see the smile you put on their face that makes everything worthwhile. If you can make a difference to someone’s life, you should do it. You’ve got nothing to lose by trying it, it’s all to gain.”
The county council has been working with independent providers of care and support at home, extra care housing and residential care providers in the county on initiatives to increase the recruitment and retention of care professionals.
Amanda Jupp, cabinet member for adults and health, said: “Caring is an incredibly rewarding career with so many opportunities to progress and make a real, positive difference to people’s lives. I would urge anyone interested to come along to this event and find out about local opportunities and job vacancies.”
