If you are looking to move onto the next stage of your social care career, planning can help you prepare with the right skills and experiences.
You should first look at the role that you want to pursue, it could be the natural next step to your current role or more of a specialized role.
You might be unsure of your next step or what type of role you want to pursue. Speak to people who are already working in the roles you are considering, to learn about their own experiences and how they got to where they are now.
Look at the skills and qualifications that you would need and consider what areas you need to work on. List the different elements that you think you need to work on, how you can achieve them and who can help you.
Skills for Care offer details on career progression, alongside a career guide for social care.
Sometimes the skills you need to work on don’t just relate to your work and there could be other skills you want to work on, such as your ability to speak to large groups of people or problem solve. You could consider doing a personality type test to better understand yourself and what you could work on.
Example skills and career action plan
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What I need to do
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How will I do it
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Who can help me
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If the role that you want to pursue requires a qualification that you don’t have, your existing employer might be able to assist you. Funding is often available, minimizing the cost to them. Supporting you through a career move can be mutually beneficial as they also get to retain an experienced member of staff.
You could consider an apprenticeship to gain new skills and knowledge.
Be sure to look at our local learning opportunities webpage to see what courses are also available with local education providers.
Sometimes developing your skills isn’t about moving onto a new role but learning more about your existing role. You could consider additional training to develop new skills, providing you with more job satisfaction and the opportunity to work on new tasks.