Learning Helps Melissa to Develop Her Career

Senior care worker Melissa Rose is riding the learning curve to gain rapid promotion with a private care organisation that provides specialist support for children and young people with behavioural problems.

Since joining Social Care Solutions as a residential care worker two-and-a-half years ago Melissa, 25, has eagerly gained new skills and qualifications to grow with the company, which has seven residential care homes across Montgomeryshire and Shropshire caring for young people aged from 10 to 18 years.

Through training and lifelong learning organisation ELWa’s Modern Apprenticeship programme, she has recently achieved an NVQ level three in the care of children and young people and is close to completing an NVQ level four management qualification to support her ultimate aim of becoming a registered manager or social worker.

“I want to be the best that I can be and the only way to do that is to learn,” said Melissa, originally from Lincolnshire, who confessed to choosing a career working with children in the care sector because of a desire to “make a difference”.

“A lot of the young people that we work with come from unstable backgrounds and we can give them opportunities to do things that they would otherwise never do,” she explained. “Hopefully when they leave our care we will have made a difference and they will remember the positive experience and follow a better life because of it.”

Her training has been provided by Powys Training, whose Newtown centre manager David Birch described her as a joy to work with. “Melissa is a model Modern Apprentice who has got the learning bug and wants to progress her career,” he said.

Anne Williams, Social Care Solutions’ human resources manager, added her words of praise. “Melissa is very good at her job and particularly good at building positive relationships with young people and that has been the basis of the fast progress she has made within the company,” she said.

“In our profession training is essential for staff to be able to comply with the rules relating to working with children and young people in care.”

Based at Welshpool Enterprise Centre, Social Care Solutions is an Investor in People and has 70 staff, many of whom are on target to achieve the NVQ level 3 qualification by next June thanks to support from ELWa and Powys Training.

“We are told that after 2005, staff will not be able to work with young people in care unless they have the NVQ level 3,” explained Mrs Williams. “Our staff have been able to progress a lot quicker because of the support we have received from ELWa and Powys Training.”

Modern apprenticeships provide people with an opportunity to work and learn at the same time. There are more than 90 different MA courses in Wales that provide a pathway to employment.

Picture caption: Melissa Rose received her NVQ level 3 award from Montgomeryshire MP Lembit Opik.