Amy’s career progression with Voyage Care!
Meet Amy. She’s a Branch Manager at North Wales DCA, one of our community support hubs. Driven by a passion for helping others, Amy completed her Health and Social Care course at college, before embarking on an incredible journey with Voyage Care.
Starting out as a Support Worker, Amy’s dedication to her role shone brightly. She’s made long lasting relationships with those around her, and worked hard to steadily advance her career all the way up to Branch Manager.
Joining the Voyage Care family
Amy always gets pleasure in helping others, and often wondered how she could shape this into a career. It didn’t take her long to realise that a role in social care was the perfect option for her. Supporting vulnerable people to live their best lives really made Amy tick.
After dedicating herself to her studies, Amy achieved a Level 3 in Health and Social Care. Eager to use her new qualification to kickstart her career, Amy explored opportunities online where she stumbled across a Support Worker role at Voyage Care.
Feeling excited, like the stars were aligning, Amy applied without any hesitation, keeping everything crossed for a positive outcome!
To her delight, Amy soon received an invitation to attend an interview, where she met members of the Voyage Care team. She had good vibes from the start and felt like this job would be a good fit for her.
After such a positive interview, Amy was overjoyed to hear she had been successful and got the job! With such a strong start to her career in care, Amy eagerly counted down the days to when she could officially start her career with the Voyage Care family.
Being a Support Worker
Amy’s journey began in 2016 and right from the start she loved her role as a Support Worker. Working night shifts at one of our residential care homes, she supported adults with learning disabilities and quickly found she thrived on building meaningful relationships with the people we support – seeing them develop and blossom with her support was fantastic.
Amy enjoyed getting involved with activities in the home and out in the community taking the time to learn about each person’s interests and needs.
Amy quickly realised how unique her role was. As a Support Worker, she gained a real sense of fulfilment every day, knowing she was making a huge impact on the lives of vulnerable people. Watching each person progress and creating lasting memories with them gave her so much joy.
Transferring to Wrexham
After the sad closure of her initial home, Amy felt uncertain about her next move. But, as if by fate, it wasn’t long before she was presented with a new opportunity!
North Wales DCA, our community support hub located in Wrexham, offered Amy the opportunity to transfer to them and continue her journey with Voyage Care. Thrilled at the prospect, Amy didn’t hesitate to accept the offer.
Continuing as a Support Worker, Amy supported people with learning disabilities who had developed more independence, and her goal was to help them progress even further. Switching to day shifts, Amy’s transition was seamless. Supported by her new colleagues, her passion for her work continued to flourish.
As she settled into the role, Amy built new relationships with the people we support and was as determined as ever to help them live their best life.
Supporting Amy’s career progression
One of Amy’s aspirations was career progression, and North Wales DCA was the perfect place to do just that! With development at the heart of our colleague experience, we were thrilled to support Amy on her journey. Gaining a few years of hands-on skills and experience in different environments, Amy was naturally eager to start climbing the career ladder.
Determined to learn and grow, Amy approached her manager to understand where there might be opportunities for her to learn and develop further. He recommended she work closer with the Field Support team to learn about their roles and responsibilities, explaining that this role would be the next step in her progression.
Amy couldn’t wait to dive in and felt a new sense of joy! She shadowed the Field Support team’s day-to-day tasks when she could, and learnt first-hand about completing audits and creating tailored care plans.
In 2019, following this unique training, a position became available within the Field Support team. Amy jumped at the chance to apply and couldn’t believe her luck when found out she’d been successful and got the job. Amy was now a Field Support Supervisor!
This promotion marked a significant step up for Amy, and her day-to-day responsibilities changed considerably. She now managed six services and supported different teams, reviewed and created care plans, delivered appraisals and completed medication audits. To ensure a successful transition, Amy received additional training and a mentor to help her settle into her new role.
Ever committed to the people we support, Amy adapted instantly and loved her new role, embracing the challenges it brought.
After a couple of years in the role, as the 2022 festive season approached, Amy was about to venture into another exciting chapter in her personal life, welcoming a baby into the world! She bid farewell for a little while as she went on maternity leave, but she knew that more opportunities awaited her on her return.
Becoming a Branch Manager
When Amy returned to work, she was excited to get back into her role and reunite with her team and the people we support. With the new addition to her family, her priorities had naturally shifted. Flexibility was now more important, and she wanted a job where she could spend more time with her family, creating lasting memories without compromising her career.
Recognising that everyone’s circumstances can change through their career, we were committed to supporting Amy’s needs. We offered her the flexibility to work various shifts that accommodated her responsibilities as a new parent, ensuring she could balance her professional aspirations with her family life.
Always eager to develop, it wasn’t long before Amy began to seek out her next career step. It felt like things were meant to be when Amy was approached about a Branch Manager role.
Having excelled in her role of Field Support Supervisor, Amy had demonstrated the skills needed to become a Branch Manager. In this position, she’d be responsible for managing multiple services, ensuring each team member had to the resources required to deliver high-quality care.
Amy demonstrated the essential skills required for a Branch Manager, including great communication, organisational skills and problem-solving skills – crucial when dealing with unpredictability and prioritising tasks to meet deadlines and maintain compliance.
Amy applied for the role and was then invited for the interview. She ticked all the boxes, and nothing could stop Amy achieving her second promotion. Amy was ecstatic and she’d now take on different responsibilities such as managing the field team, actioning improvements and building future plans for the services.
Everything Amy does is driven by ensuring the people we support are safe, healthy, and happy. By creating a happy team, this impacts the mood and wellbeing of each person we support.
Amy’s positive experience with the teams she’s worked in has shaped her approach to leadership. She finds great comfort in supporting colleagues across her teams to feel confident in their roles and helping them deliver quality care to the people we support.
Even when her role as Branch Manager presents additional challenges, Amy is surrounded by support and never faces difficulties alone.
Working collaboratively has empowered Amy to approach each new step in her career progression with confidence. Every day is different in our services and can often be unpredictable, meaning team unity is essential to overcoming challenges and difficult times. For Amy, our culture of collaborative working has been key to ensuring she’s succeeded in all her roles!
Training and support from Voyage Care
Amy is just one example of the many people we’ve supported to progress their career.
We specially train our teams, so they are empowered with the knowledge and skills to provide high-quality care to vulnerable people with a wide range of needs.
Since Amy joined us, we’ve supported her to expand her academic achievements too! She’s achieved her Level 4 and 5 in Leadership and Management. This has paid dividends in teaching Amy key leadership skills, which she’s applied to all her roles, helping her climb the career ladder!
Amy has also received extensive training across a range of specialist areas, including supporting people with learning disabilities. Additionally, she’s benefitted from shadowing colleagues, learning from others and collaborating with different departments to broaden her knowledge.
Amy summarised – “Everyone’s always happy to help and support me with whatever I need. We all share the same goal and come to work every day for the same reason – to deliver excellent care and support to vulnerable people. Voyage Care just feels like one big family!”
Learn more about our roles
Inspired by Amy’s story and want to kickstart your career in care? Visit our website to view our latest vacancies and start your Voyage Care journey today.