Greensleeves Care has been awarded the Large Employer of the Year (2022) Award by Connect2Care.
The Connect2Care Heroes Awards celebrate the outstanding apprentices and employers who work across adult care, healthcare, early years and funeral services. The awards are designed to champion employers who have gone the extra mile to drive apprenticeships forward within their workplace
In a partnership with Connect2Care (C2C), Greensleeves Care has developed its own industry-leading apprenticeship programme, aimed at developing future leaders and creating a team of home-grown care specialists. Training schemes include Level 2 The Principles of Dementia Care, Level 3 Lead Adult Care Worker and Level 2 End of Life Care.
Learning and Development Manager Susan Harris said: “We believe in the career development of our colleagues across all care homes and support functions in Greensleeves Care and we’re proud to say that nine apprentices completed this year, 56 staff are currently undertaking an apprenticeship and more are ready to sign up!
“We know that some people do not always want to climb the career ladder but even if they don’t want promotion, they all want to support our residents in the best way possible so offering them an apprenticeship that allows for knowledge and skill development is important. Once they have completed their apprenticeship, they may change their mind about career development or it may be something they consider in a few years’ time.
“For those who do aim for career promotion, we have a fantastic history of supporting people to do exactly that. Indeed, we have a number of people that have been with us for many years. Our current Home Manager started with us as a kitchen assistant at 16, whilst studying at college, and has worked her way through most job roles in the care home before becoming Home Manager. Of course, that is an exception rather than the rule, but we do enjoy genuinely good retention of our colleagues in comparison with most other care organisations, and I believe this is partly because of the excellent Greensleeves Care learning and development support and career progression.”
The awards programme said of Greensleeves Care: “Their commitment and dedication to training, apprenticeships and working in the community is integral to their social impact strategy and their mission to ensure residents are provided with exceptional care and service.”
Susan added: “We’re deeply proud to be working alongside our trusted partner C2C and invest in our career changing apprenticeship programme to give our team the skills and knowledge to excel and shine in their career. Whether they’re a front-line carer who aspires to be a leader, or new to the industry with a passion to offer outstanding care to our service users – we’ve got an apprenticeship for everybody. The team at C2C are industry experts and they ensure that our staff develop knowledge to help them grow and develop through the apprenticeship programme delivery.”
At Greensleeves Care, every new team member completes a comprehensive training programme in the belief that great training is the foundation of great care.
“We focus all our efforts on our residents whom we enable and support with great pride. It is a privilege to work in our residents’ home,” added Susan.