Care UK has partnered with the Careers & Enterprise Company on its Open Doors project, supporting secondary school students to find out about working in a care home.

Care UK’s first Open Doors’ event took place at Silversprings care home in Thorrington, Essex. Twenty Year 10 students learnt about the range of careers available in a care home, as well as careers across the company, including within Care UK’s Colchester-based Support Centre.

The students toured the home, where they met residents and Care UK staff with different academic and career backgrounds including carers, nurses, kitchen and hospitality staff and managers.

The students were able to ask questions and have an in-depth discussion about the potential professions available to them, as well as hearing colleagues’ stories from their own work experience, early job roles, and the lessons they learned over the course of their careers.

Omar Taylor, Care UK’s regional director for Essex, said, “I am proud that, as a region, we are working hard to pilot a formalised work experience programme to further allow those interested in a career in care to learn more and experience the workplace. We have a number of early career initiatives that we are developing, and we are also working with Special Educational Needs and Disability [SEND] schools and disadvantaged groups to raise awareness of what they can achieve, and the support on offer to them.”

Samuel Mort, hotel services manager at Care UK, said, “It is rewarding to show young people of all backgrounds and academic abilities that you can have a meaningful career regardless of whether or not you leave school with straight As.”

He added: “I left school with a U in Maths and with other grades below C, and I have various learning challenges including ADHD. My first role after leaving school was a kitchen assistant. I worked very hard and applied myself to all the learning opportunities that were available to me. I now have the responsibility to support around 40 homes within four regions, whilst managing and developing teams who work in kitchens, hospitality and housekeeping.”