In Staffordshire, over 18,000 people work in care, but with 152,000 care job vacancies across the country, our team is on a mission to challenge some common myths - like the idea that there is no career progression or that care work is only about personal care.

In this blog, Amy Duffy, Senior Commissioning Manager at Staffordshire County Council, shares her experience and explains why nothing could be further from the truth.

 First, I want to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who works in care because it’s not just a job that keeps the people we love and care about happy, healthy and safe, but care work also has an unnecessarily bad reputation!

I can understand it. The media portrays a gruelling job that centres around personal care, with no career progression and no quality of life, but that really isn’t the case. Don’t get me wrong. Like any job, care workers can have tough days, but most people’s experience is that they are working in a family of colleagues that help each other, and that there is no other job that makes such an incredible difference to people’s lives.

Knowing that someone’s had a great day because you came to work today still gives people the job satisfaction that is hard to match in any other job.

What other job is actually about supporting people to rediscover their independence and helping them enjoy their life?

For many of our colleagues, working in care just doesn’t feel like a job. Just last week I was speaking to my colleague Zainab, who helped a resident at Horninglow Bungalows to go swimming again after 40 years. Swimming brought her such joy before illness took hold. I’ve never seen such a transformation in someone’s day-to-day wellbeing.

And in what other job can you bring in your own interests and passions to work? It’s about bringing some real colour to people’s day, every day.

I just don’t get why people say there’s no career progression. The reality is the world’s your oyster if you want it. As a great example, the manager of Woodview Care Home rose through the ranks from a care assistant. Becky Redfern started as a care worker, and then followed her interest in mental health nursing, qualified and then brought that skill base back to work in care. Now she combines both in her job, and wouldn’t do anything else.

So if you want a job that really means something, to you and to the people you work with, care really could be for you.

You don’t have to have any formal qualifications, but people from all walks of life work in care – it’s about making a difference and working with a family. I’d recommend it to anyone.

Explore careers, training, and opportunities in care with Staffordshire Jobs and Careers: www.staffsjobscareers.com/my-career-options/industries/health-social-care/