Council encourages new Sidmouth entrants to social care
DELEGATES to a Devon County Council conference are to be encouraged to examine the potential to recruit more social care workers during the current economic downturn.
DELEGATES to a Devon County Council conference are to be encouraged to examine the potential to recruit more social care workers during the current economic downturn.
Devon Care Training (DCT), which is part of Devon County Council, holds its annual conference at Sandy Park, Exeter, on Friday, July 17.
DCT provides training for carers in the private, voluntary and independent sector and currently has about 400 members, including agencies providing residential, day, domiciliary, respite care and supported living services.
They provide bespoke training on a number of specific issues including diabetes and bipolar/manic depression and dementia awareness, and training for unpaid carers to help them look after the people they care for.
Also important to their work are their 'Care Ambassadors', who visit schools and colleges to encourage young people to take up careers in social care.
Despite the success of this scheme, there is still a need for more staff, and delegates to next month's conference will be told of DCT's current work to expand the scheme to encourage people who have been made redundant, or are looking for a career change or are active retired to consider re-training for social care work.
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"The current economic downturn could have positive benefits for social work recruitment," said DCT Team Manager Eoghan Kelly.
"One of the workshops at the conference will focus on building workforces for the future, and we will be talking to delegates about our recruitment drive to target people who have unfortunately lost their jobs or would like a change of direction. "
Devon County Council's Cabinet Member for Adult Community Services, Cllr Stuart Barker, said:
"The times are difficult for all business and service sectors at the moment, but the County Council is working hard to encourage people into social care.
"The conference will be an excellent opportunity for providers to get together to discuss training opportunities and to find out more about the ongoing work to support this vital sector.
