Devizes-based Ridgeway Care is on the hunt for new recruits to its care worker teams in Devizes and Marlborough.
The home care provider is appealing to people who may not have thought of a career in care before. Its 56 care workers have come from all walks of life and include a former pig farmer, fashion designer and soldier.
Ridgeway Care provides care to people in their own homes every day of the year. This includes washing and dressing, housekeeping, shopping, collecting prescriptions and child care.
The company is holding a recruitment afternoon on Thursday, 22 October, at the Town Hall’s Cheese Hall on St Johns’ Road in Devizes from 1.00pm to 5.00pm. There will be a talk and more information about a job in care and people can apply and have an interview on the day. A face painter will keep children occupied and beauty therapist Sally Robathan-Hayward will give free head massages for a spot of relaxation.
Care manager Marie Cranfield said “Caring for people is an important job. Patience, honesty, reliability and a caring nature are more important than past experience. We give our carers all the training they need from the day they start and throughout their careers.”
Care worker Mary Jones, 65, ran a pig farm in Bulkington with her husband for 23 years, which she sold when her husband fell ill. She applied for a job as a care worker when she saw an advertisement in her local paper.
She said: “I had no experience but liked the idea of caring for people. I look forward to going to work every morning and it’s fulfilling to know I’m helping people to stay in their own home and keep their independence.”
Mary has worked for Ridgeway Care for 12 years and is the company’s longest-serving care worker. In 2007, she was a finalist in The Home Care Worker - South category in the Ceretas Annual Home Care Awards.
Ridgeway Care, part of Ridgeway Community Housing Association which is a member of the Aster Group, has earned national recognition for its high standards and the quality of training for care workers. Staff have training from the moment they join and also attend regular workshops and on-the-job training to keep their skills up-to-date.
For more information, call Marie Cranfield, care manager and former secretary, on (01380) 735439.
