Do you imagine a career in care is something out of your reach?

Do you worry about the years it takes to get the necessary qualifications to even get your foot in the door?

Are you put off because you don’t feel academic enough to get through the assessment?

There’s only really one thing you need to start your career as a carer, and it’s not what you think.

Since the Me2U Centre opened, we have taken on seven members of staff to assist with the care of our clients.

In a recent interview, I explained it this way:

“We’re not talking looking for people with degrees or masters or NVQs, because anyone can get them.

We’re looking for people with genuine compassion, empathy and people who can identify.

The rest can be taught. NVQs, you can learn. But if you haven’t got it in there, there’s nothing to work on.

I will employ in a different way to most people…

“The best carers I’ve seen are domestics in the hospital. They’re absolutely brilliant with the patients…but they think that because they’ve got no qualifications, they’ve got no confidence. But they’ve just got it, because I can spot it a mile away.”

I recruit for heart, compassion and people who have a good way with the patients. There are always going to be people with excellent qualifications. Training and assessment are essential for assuring that our carers are professionally taught about processes, regulations and good practice. However, these certificates are a waste of paper if the person possessing them does not first and foremost have a heart for this profession and the people in their care.

Good qualifications can be gained, but you have to love being around people. At Me2U Centre, we consistently strive to develop our staff. We now have some employees taking their NVQs to accredit their skills and knowledge. The management staff are continuously updating our knowledge with regular training so Me2U Centre can be cutting edge and base our programme of activities on current research.

I’m interested in hearing from people who are good with people, especially older people. If you’ve had experience looking after a relative with dementia, have you ever thought about putting that experience to use as a professional carer?

If you think you might want to pursue this but want to find out more, come and spend some time in the centre seeing what we do to gauge whether you like it. We can advise, signpost you to free training, or let you volunteer with us to see if it is a step you want to take.