At Westwood Homecare, we believe happy clients who feel safe and supported each and every day are by far the greatest treasure, and we pride ourselves on employing some truly special individuals who strive to make that happen. If you have a caring and compassionate heart, we may be the key to unlocking a beautiful, brilliant career; one you'd perhaps never considered, until now.
Our Training Academy enables us to work within the community to assist those who are in pursuit of a career in care - whether you're unemployed, just starting out or hoping for a career change, we provide a clear and simple pathway into a life-changing profession. We pride ourselves on the work we put in to ensure our clients feel safe, heard and valued, and strive to enhance a sense of independence for clients, so that they can be active members of their community wherever possible.
For Mica Jones, aged 18, a career in care was written in the stars, and Westwood Homecare opened the door to her perfect career.
Mica says: "I started out by studying law, psychology and criminology at college. I stuck it out for a couple of months and, alongside my studies, I picked up a couple of shifts at Westwood Homecare. My mum and dad have worked within the care industry since I was a baby, so I suppose it was inevitable that I'd follow in their footsteps. Care, and caring for those around me, was ingrained in me, although it had never been my dream career as such. I never planned a career in care. As soon as I started working with Westwood Homecare, I realised just how perfect a career it was for me, and I had a total change of heart about where I wanted to be. So, I quickly left college and started working as a full-time care assistant.
"I started out by working towards my NVQ level 2 in health and social care alongside work. Now, I have just finished and have recently been promoted which allows me to come into the office where I'm mostly responsible for customer medication reviews. I feel like I have come so far already, I've been thoroughly supported and this has really helped me to progress in my role in a short period of time. My working day starts with me completing any outstanding study work before I head out into the community to carry out medication reviews. I ensure everything is up to date, and I love checking in on clients. There's nothing more heart-warming than to see a customer so happy and uplifted after a visit from us. Often, we're the only contact they have in a day, so it's lovely to feel that you've made such an enormous difference to a person's day. It's by far the most rewarding aspect of my job.
"I'd wholeheartedly encourage anybody with a kind and caring heart to consider a career in care. I think it's particularly important for younger generations to consider the career, as it really opens your eyes and teaches you compassion, patience and understanding. A lot of younger people are very naive about the ageing process and how drastically our lives change as we age. It's an incredibly enriching, character-building career choice which arms you with so many values.
”I'm so grateful to Westwood Homecare for the opportunity they have given me to embark on such a fulfilling career journey. They have offered me real-world experience, not just studying from textbooks but putting my education into practice and providing me with ongoing training to support me both personally and professionally. I couldn't be more passionate about care and I truly hope more people consider a career that will change their lives as they help to improve the lives of others. It's a beautiful cycle."
Our company is built on the strongest foundations, and a devoted management team with a combined 80 years within the health and social care industry.
We provide bespoke, specialist, affordable, customer-led home care in Manchester, Stockport, Bolton, Liverpool and surrounding areas, ranging from 30 minutes to 24-hour, round-the-clock care. We strive to provide exceptional, second-to-none health care to those who need it most, allowing them to make decisions and express wishes surrounding their own care, all whilst ensuring we maintain an enjoyable working culture for our phenomenal carers.
These values were particularly important to Zaara Sharif, aged 18, whose plans were abruptly halted at the start of the pandemic. As she finished high school, Zaara was left in the lurch with nowhere to turn, but Westwood Homecare gave her an opportunity she never expected.
Zaara says: "I had no background in care, but I was a class of Coronavirus, so when high school finished, I was just waiting for my results.
”Whilst my friends lounged around and soaked up the sunshine, I chose to throw myself into the deep end and go out into the community as a carer. I'd never done anything to do with care, I had never even experienced caring for elderly relatives, so it was completely new territory for me. From day one, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It gave me a sense of purpose and made me feel so fulfilled at the end of every day.
”I started picking up regular shifts, and really threw myself into it. Then, I started college and although I desperately wanted to work and continue to support the clients I had built friendships with in the community, I had to focus on my college work, too. I chose to study business, media and criminology, so my studies were intense. I was so grateful to Westwood Homecare, they really accommodated my needs. Their afternoon visits start around 3pm, but I often didn't finish college until 4pm. Instead of telling me I couldn't work, they would allocate a different carer to cover the first couple of visits, and then I would take over as soon as I could. It was brilliant - and I never found such long days a challenge because I loved it so much. It didn't really feel like work, just going out to visit friends. Westwood Homecare is a brilliant company to work for. I work with all types of people from different backgrounds and to allow them the most time with their children, Westwood Homecare allocates them the 7am visits so that they're done by 2pm and can spend the rest of their day with their families. There are pool cars so that anybody who wants to work but cannot afford to drive can still get to and from wherever they need to be.
”My favourite part of being a carer is making somebody's day. I'm incredibly passionate about care, and the happiness on our clients’ faces when they are so thankful for everything we're doing for them is so heart-warming. When people think of a career in care, they sometimes think you just wipe bums and make cups of tea, but it's so much more than that. It's personal care to friendship and everything in-between. It's life changing - and there are so many directions your career can take. I studied business which has nothing to do with care, but I was recently promoted into a medication-centred role which carries a lot of responsibility, and in time I hope to progress into a supervisor role, and then learn more about how the business is run.
"As a carer, I have grown as a person and as a professional. I care for each and every patient as if they were my own relatives.Those values are deeply instilled into us at Westwood Homecare, because they truly do care about each and every customer and go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure clients feel safe, heard, valued and able to make decisions about their own care, which is incredibly important. We do everything with a customer's wellbeing and dignity at heart.
"Anybody can pursue a career in care and I could not recommend it highly enough. It's never too late to start and with Westwood Homecare’s free, ongoing training, you can rest assured you're performing at nothing short of the highest level. Your qualifications are constantly evolving and growing with you - which matches both the way you evolve as a person and the ever-changing industry. The best decision I ever made was to pursue a life changing career that helps me to help others each and every day."
If there's room in your heart to care for those within your community who need it most, a career with Westwood Homecare could be the perfect fit for you.
If, like Mica and Zaara, you're interested in pursuing a career with an award-winning company who also support "Think! Food 2 Plate" to provide free, warm meals and meal packages to those most in need within the community, please apply us here.