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SECTION 5: THE IMPACT
JOY IS LEARNING TO LEAD
Ensuring skilled and passionate employees have the opportunity to develop their skills within the care sector is key to retaining them.
Joy Irvine (pictured right) has found the job she loves near her home in Peterhead in Scotland, where
she divides her time between two services which support people with complex learning and physical disabilities. She is committed to ensuring the people she supports live their best lives possible.
After just over two years as a Support Worker, Joy’s obvious ability and her enjoyment of the work made
her an ideal candidate for Community Integrated Care’s Learn to LEAD programme. Designed by the charity’s Learning and Development team to provide the most committed and talented Support Workers with the opportunity to become confident Service Leaders, the programme offers real career progression and ensures that talent is nurtured and retained within our workforce.
Joy was a perfect fit for the programme, having independently sought training and qualifications in her own time to help her understand the range of conditions and behaviours of concern that impact the lives of the people she supports.
Community Integrated Care’s Learn to LEAD enables the charity to effectively develop our leaders from within, as well as properly succession plan for the future. This is the work of one provider. The social care sector as a whole needs an expert-led and fully-funded workforce strategy to transform frontline social care work from a job to a long-term, progressive career.
“I love caring for people, I get so much out of seeing people flourish and the more complex the need, the more determined I am to support that person to live their best life possible,” said Joy, who studied for a year whilst juggling work and family to gain her SVQ3 – a compulsory qualification for social care workers in a supervisory role in Scotland’s social care sector.
The Learn to LEAD programme lasts between 12 and
18 months and sees the successful future leaders participating in a series of training sessions, taking on increased responsibilities, and studying in order to develop all the skills needed for the role of Service Leader.
“I would love to lead my own service one day – but it is an immense job that involves being able to manage a great support team whilst maintaining a level of objectivity in order to provide the best care. That’s the part I am having to really work on, because I get so attached to the people I support!”
37. Learning Disability and Autism Social Care providers Financial Impact Assessment by Cordis Bright, October 2022 35