Why men should think about a career in care – we spoke to Sue Fletcher from Oakdown House to find out more

1st May

We spoke to Sue Fletcher, Oakdown House – a care home for adults with challenging learning and physical disabilities, about the opportunities for male carers at Oakdown and their sister home Carricks Brook. She is keen to see more men coming into caring as she explained below:

“Statistically there are a lot less men working in care than women. We live in a modern world where gender shouldn’t matter but it is hard to break the mindset that women are the core carers. In reality it is not your gender that makes you a good carer but the type of person you are.

“At Oakdown House and Carricks Brook, staff support adults with learning disabilities within their beautiful homes to lead fulfilling lives. To do this job well you need to be caring and patient, it really doesn’t matter what gender you are as long as you put the residents first and care for them in the best way possible.”

Opportunities for men to enter care-work.

Working in care can be very flexible. If you have a family, just like women have often done, you can fit family life around your career, you can be there for those special moments just like ‘mums’ ‘sisters’ or ‘daughters’ do.

Working in care can be very progressive. There are lots of options in a career in care, it’s not just about the everyday care of residents, there are so many other roles on offer including team leaders, care coordinators, HR, accounts, maintenance, chefs, administration, management etc. Most homes will give you full training and that is certainly the case at Oakdown and Carricks, so then all you need is a willingness to learn.

It can very rewarding. Supporting people to live fulfilling lives can have a huge impact on your own life, knowing you are making a difference everyday can make you feel happy and content.

Working in care is endless but in a positive way! Supporting adults with learning disabilities is required 24/7 so if you are currently struggling with the cost of living then you can almost guarantee that there will be extra shifts available, extra shifts of course means extra pay!

Working in care is fun! Every day at Oakdown House and Carricks Brook is different. The residents thrive on having positive, happy people around them which in turn creates a fun and enjoyable environment to live and work in. With opportunities to go on exciting days out or even holidays with residents so every day is an adventure for the residents and for staff.

“In 2020 and 2021 (estimates taken from the Skills for Care website), the male workforce for workers in adult social care both within the independent and local authority sectors was between 17 and 18%. Across our two homes, Oakdown and Carricks, our current workforce is 27% men and 73% women so we are doing pretty well with employing men, we can always do better though and welcome more men to apply for our vacancies or other vacancies within the social care sector, ” added Sue, Oakdown House.

If you are interested in finding out about opportunities, everyone is welcome, please contact: 01435 883492 or CLICK HERE FOR VACANCIES

This is a promotional feature for Oakdown House and Carricks Brook.