Care Boss Urges Social Care to be Prioritised in Government’s Agenda in Meeting with Minister

The owner of Home Instead Wandsworth, Lambeth & Dulwich has called for the government to prioritise recruitment in social care, when he met with the Minister of State for Employment, Guy Opperman, at Stockwell Job Centre.

Tony O’Flaherty is keen to attract more people into the care sector, in his meeting with Opperman, he stressed the need to professionalise working in care and highlighted the career route that it offers. Tony urged Opperman to ensure that Job Centre staff are well informed on the benefits of working in care, such as the training and career prospects, so that they can actively and positively promote care roles to job candidates.

Recruiting people with or without sector experience into care roles, Tony has seen people undergo the Care Career Pathway offered by Home Instead and build themselves a successful career. This pathway sees care professionals progress from gaining the fundamental skills to perform well in a care role, to specialising in areas of care such as dementia and Parkinson’s, to gaining more experience and qualifications beyond that.

Tony says: “It was a pleasure to meet with Guy, and I’d like to thank Stockwell Job Centre for inviting me along. There’s a lot that needs to be done to attract more people into the care sector, so I’m glad that it’s getting the attention it deserves from a government minister.

“Too often people see care as a sector that doesn’t offer prospects. The truth is that working at Home Instead means having a clear route ahead where we train you to perform well in your role and progress.

“I’m confident that we can look forward to a future where the government has a firmer grip on social care and the sector attracts more jobhunters thanks to changes led by government ministers like Guy.”