It’s often easier to learn when you can have a bit of fun too, as some of our staff found recently while learning some vital skills for their jobs. Training courses are not only important opportunities to grow knowledge and expertise, but also helps people from different teams get to know each other better. Staff often say that one of the stand-out things about working for The Whiteley Homes Trust is the people, and the great team spirit we have.
Interim Director of Care, Fiona Broadberry, who took part in the course on emergency first aid said: “It was such a fantastic day and we all learnt so much from our trainer, Barry. He made the course interactive and enjoyable, despite it being a very serious subject. It was also extra special as it was face to face. During Covid many courses had to be done online and so we all really appreciated the opportunity to learn together in person.
“We had a range of staff on our course and a few new faces too. Jess, a social care student is currently on a placement with us, working across all the various care services we provide at Whiteley Village. We have a long tradition of offering placements to students some of whom decide to stay and develop their career with us (read Shineeza’s story). As a bit of fun at the end of the course, we decided to give everyone an award for their biggest success during the day, and Jess got hers for the best rhythm keeping while doing CPR!
“Another member of our group was Caroline, who recently joined our care team having had no previous experience of working in care. We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of people moving into social care from completely different roles, which is very encouraging. People often don’t realise you can join our care team without any previous experience, as we train you on the job. (read Kelly’s story).
“It was lovely meeting Caroline, and she won our award for being the most willing to volunteer. She told me how much she was enjoying her first few weeks at Whiteley which was great to hear – welcome to the team Caroline!”
“Our training group also included Sarah, a new nurse recruit, who won her award for expertise with an Epi pen! She’d started her first shift that day, so it was good having another new face to welcome to the team and we all wished her luck on her first week at Whiteley.
“Also on the course was Diju, who works as a Night Concierge in Huntley House, our Extra Care facility. I regularly meet with our night staff, but it can be hard for them to get to know our team, so everyone really appreciated the opportunity to spend time with Diju. He won our award for being the kindest during the day as he was always offering to take over from people when they were getting tired from doing CPR!”.
In such a competitive job market, recruiting good people is just the first hurdle for most employers – keeping them is the next challenge. Learning, support and personal development for staff is something our charity has always been committed to and is one of the reasons our staff stay with us. We’re proud to be a Silver Investors in People employer and have fantastic feedback about what a great place Whiteley Village is to work. If you’d like to join our brilliant team, you can find out more here.
