It's never too late to learn

My career story: Michelle Anderson

I joined Lynemore Care Home in Grantown three years ago, working full time as a carer. Before then, I worked in the town as a home carer.
 
After I joined Lynemore, I enrolled on the SVQ 3 Social Services and Healthcare programme and was successful in gaining the qualification. It proved to be the stepping stone to my applying for a more senior shift leader position.
 
I’m still in that role today and thoroughly enjoying it. The experience of doing my SVQ3 was a real turning point. It sparked a desire within me to develop as a person and as a care professional.
 
I embarked on the SVQ Level 4 in January 2022, whilst completing my Professional Development Award in Medication Management. I was delighted to receive both my completed qualification certificates a short time ago.
 
I plan to continue on my learning journey and will be looking towards more management courses in the near future.
 
I think people imagine that you need a host of qualifications before entering the care sector. You really don’t.
 
If you want to succeed and progress, you can. I would encourage anyone joining the sector to work through the SVQ programme. My own journey just goes to prove that working in the care industry can reap rewards and that qualifications can come later in life, and not just in secondary education.
 
Parklands has been supportive on my learning journey and there are ample opportunities for anyone else to do the same.
 
I particularly enjoyed the academic aspect of the work and relating it to my daily practice. One area that I hadn’t been fully exposed to in the past was Adult Support and Protection legislation, as this would normally be dealt with by more senior staff.
 
However, during my studies, I had the opportunity to participate in a multi-disciplinary meeting where we discussed this legislation and how it applied to potential residents moving into Lynemore. I found this really helpful and interesting, and this led me to researching the legislation further. Every day is a school day in the care sector!
 
But as a result, I now have a better understanding of why we require, at times, to have a more structured professional meeting in order to ensure the rights of our residents are protected.
 
During the time I was undergoing my learning, I received support and guidance from my SVQ assessor and found she was very helpful in guiding me in the right direction.
 
Within Lynemore, I have also been lucky to have a supportive Manager who has given me the opportunity to learn about the quality improvement structures and internal audit processes, and support her in implementing them. The team at Lynemore has also been very instrumental in helping me embed my practice.
 
We have recently seen some new staff recruited to Lynemore and they are now working through a 12 week induction programme which has recently has been introduced by the company. A new supervision booklet is also now in operation for all staff which has a focus on learning and development. I’m confident this will be a tremendous benefit to new and existing colleagues.
 
It's great to see our team expanding but we still have career opportunities at Lynemore. I would encourage anyone interested in the care sector to join, and to make use of the SVQ process and Parklands’ support structure. It helped me develop as a person and as a care practitioner
 
And the good news, as I’ve found myself, is that there are various opportunities for promotion within the Parklands group.
 
Michelle Anderson
Shift Leader, Lynemore Care Home

If you've been inspired by Michelle's story and want to find out more about working in the care sector, visit our website at parklandsgroup.com/careers