Marisa Spice, Learning and Development Manager at Nellsar, describes the journey of Lulworth House Senior Care Assistant Kirsty, who recently passed her Level 3 qualification in Care, gaining a wealth of experience and confidence in the process.
Kirsty has worked at Nellsar since 2009, firstly as a Care Assistant and then later as a Senior Carer. In April 2022, she enrolled to do her Lead Adult Care Worker Level 3 qualification with eTraining and in a discussion with her about her personal and professional development, she reflects on her experiences and achievements from completing her apprenticeship:
Positive changes
Kirsty needed to have a Level 3 qualification in Care for her role as Senior Care Assistant and this was an area that she admits made her worried. She describes feeling nervous and worried, asking herself – ‘What will I achieve?’
She explains how doing the apprenticeship changed her in so many positive ways, and ways that she couldn’t have imagined. From having no confidence in her abilities, this Level 3 qualification has opened up opportunities to learn about areas of her job and social care that she is now so much more confident in. In particular, she recalls learning how to better support residents and their family members. She understands now what people need and how to try to best meet their needs; it has changed her perception of what is expected and what she is capable of providing.
Building confidence
Kirsty states now that if she doesn’t know something, she accepts this is part of everyday learning and instead of worrying about it, she will go to find the answer herself or seek advice from colleagues or her Manager. Instead of going home with lack of confidence, she now goes home feeling that she has done her absolute best.
Overcoming fears with determination
Her biggest fear was not succeeding with her apprenticeship. She thought she would not be able to achieve her Functional Skills (Maths and English), but in fact she passed her Maths first time! A key challenge was passing her English exam. She says that she had always struggled with writing and spelling, but was just a few points off passing on most attempts. Her absolute resilience meant that she was finally successful on her 7th attempt! What determination!
Celebrating success
Lulworth House Home Manager Catherine Singh is delighted with Kirsty’s achievement:
“Kirsty has shown such dedication and courage to pass this qualification and we are very proud that she has achieved it and had the determination to keep going. Her newly learned skills have made her more confident in her job role and particularly leading a team. We will continue to support her with her professional development, with opportunities to build on her confidence and gain more knowledge, to ensure she is leading with current best practice which will have a positive impact on the whole team and of course our residents.”As Learning and Development Manager for Nellsar, I have great admiration for anyone undertaking an apprenticeship and I really enjoy seeing and hearing about how our staff develop and progress. This journey of Kirsty’s in particular makes me incredibly proud that we can support and provide such impressive development in our workforce – and in this case, I’m especially impressed with all the great things it has brought to Kirsty and her Lulworth residents, colleagues and visitors.
Marisa Spice
Learning and Development Manager
