Stockport Council is transforming the way we do Adults Social Care. It is an exciting time to work with us. Our recent All Colleague survey showed that in Adult Social Care, our staff feel valued, well communicated with, involved in future planning and puts our residents at the heart of what we do. We have a great training and development programme and are undertaking some exciting work on career progression and have specialist career champions to support this.
We asked Jamie, a Social Worker in our Neighbourhoods team a series of questions to provide an overview of his social work journey within Adult Social Care at Stockport Council..
How long have you been in your role?
I have worked for Stockport Council for nearly 15 years. I started my role as a Personal Assistant at the age of 18. My role involved supporting a social worker who had a visual impairment. I had no idea what a social workers role really entailed and what an eye opener it was. I started to realise how much I enjoyed working directly with people and started to think about undertaking my social work training.
Why did you become a Social Worker?
After 2 years as a Personal Assistant a job opportunity arose on the commissioning team. This involved working with social workers to find home care packages for vulnerable residents as well as commissioning day care services. I started to get a good feel for working for Stockport Council and wanted to continue progressing in my career. I went on to work in other roles including as a support broker and a social care officer.
In 2016 I applied for an opportunity to complete a social work degree with Stockport Council which allowed me to study at University whilst still being paid. I was extremely grateful for the opportunity and qualified from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2018 with a degree in social work. I was able to progress and complete my ASYE, enjoying the challenges that arose each day.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
I work on a very dynamic team who support one another through challenging and rewarding times. I have dealt with complex work which has enabled me to learn and progress in my role. There is something to learn every day, which is what I love about social work. My day-to-day role involves supporting families and people by completing care Act Assessments and producing support plans tailored to individual needs. I work in a multidisciplinary environment with other professionals including the third sector, health, police, and housing to ensure that people are accessing the support they need.
What do you think makes Social Work at Stockport Council special?
I have worked at Stockport Council for over 15 years and there are many work colleagues who I class as my ‘work family’. It is the team and colleagues who I work alongside who make my social work role so enjoyable, and I am consistently given opportunities to progress and learn within the social work field. The Senior management team are always striving to make changes to better the lives of those living in Stockport. I am passionate about working for Stockport and supporting Stockport residents, it is a privilege to support the families we work with. I hope to continue to do so over the coming years.
Three words I would use to describe my role would be…
Challenging, fast paced, rewarding.
Interested in joining us? Find a range of exciting and rewarding vacancies currently available in Adult Social Care here