Residential and dementia care home provider, Ideal Carehomes, is offering in-house training to care staff to improve career progression, and above-average starting salaries for new starters.

The training course, Ideal Futures, was developed to provide home management experience to those who have already progressed within Ideal Carehomes and are looking to be future home managers.

Through eight monthly modules, participants learn the different elements of managerial roles in the care homes, from staff management and HR to budgeting and marketing.

Head of employee engagement and development, Sarah Colling, said: “Ideal Academy was founded with the idea that anyone can have a career in care. Somebody could start with us having absolutely no experience, on a starting salary of £22,000 per annum, and can very quickly be fully trained to have a career with us through our internal management course, Ideal Futures. It’s really important that we have a great progression plan for our staff. It keeps them engaged and happy, and they don’t have to go anywhere else to progress.”

Of the Ideal Futures class of 2022, 11 participants graduated the course, with 10 of those being promoted before the end of the course.

Sarah Clark, 38, graduated in June. She joined the company as a part-time care assistant in 2018 and has since progressed to care manager.

Clark  said: “Since starting with Ideal Carehomes, I’ve received massive support. During my progression, there’s always been someone behind me saying ‘you can do it’. Ideal Futures was really pivotal for me, because I could take things away to put into practice in the workplace. My favourite thing [about Ideal Futures] is that I can now see potential in the people I work with, and help them because I know that this opportunity is here for them.’

Ideal Futures will launch again in September.

Ideal Carehomes offers 24-hour residential and dementia care in 30 homes across Yorkshire, the Northwest and Midlands.