A Cornwall Council initiative has been launched to get young people to pursue a career in care.

The campaign to help tackle the shortage in care workers is led by Proud to Care Cornwall, part of the wider Proud to Care South West initiative set up to raise the profile of social care.

Cornwall Council cabinet member for adult social care and health, Andy Virr said: “To secure the future workforce and ensureeveryone receives the care they need, we must attract and retain more young people in the sector.

“We’re keen to challenge any misconceptions people might have about working in care. There are great career opportunities with the ability to progress in your career path and lots of options to learn as you earn, as well as a sense that you’re really making a difference to people’s lives.”

Currently, only 8% of the UK workforce is under 25, while over 25% is 55 or older.

Ellie Boulton, who is studying for a BTEC in Level 3 national diploma in health and social care, as well as working part time at Coombe House in Liskeard, said: “I completely fell in love with working in care and I can’t picture myself doing anything else. There’s a stereotype with care that it’s just helping with the personal care side of things but I soon realised that this was the secondary part of care.

“The first part is looking after the person as a whole, for example I’ve done baking with residents and I’ve learned such a lot from them.”

You can hear more from Ellie in this video.

To find out more about training in care you can listen to the Proud to Care Cornwall podcast featuring Sam Chapman who is a study programme manager at Cornwall College.

You can also hear from Queenie Earle in this short video, talking about her experiences of working in care, and also Michaela Gill and Evie Clarkson in this short video.

You can find out more about roles in care and apply by visiting the Proud to Care Cornwall website.