A Stevenage woman who ditched her former career to work in adult care during the pandemic was celebrated as part of Good Care Month.

Hertfordshire Care Providers Association marked Good Care Month by shining a light on the county's adult social care sector.

Fourteen months ago, Natalie Walker, 40, from Stevenage decided to swap the corporate world to become a carer as it offered her more flexibility and allowed her to be there for her children.

She said: "When I worked in the corporate world, I sometimes didn’t see my children, but I thought there must be something out there that I will love and that will fit in with my family.

"It has enriched our lives and I get to take my children to school and pick them up.”

Natalie said working as a carer has exceeded her expectations of what the job would be like. She said: “This is certainly not a role I ever thought I would do, especially when I was younger, but I feel like I have grown into it. It is the best thing I have ever done.”

She had to undergo lots of training, which her new employer supported her through.

“There is training you need to do at the start to get your care certificate, such as manual handling, medication and focussing on person centred care. We also covered Dementia Friends training which Right at Home who I work for are ambassadors for. There is also updated training.

"At the moment I am doing a Health and Social Care apprenticeship, so I am doing further training to gain more knowledge, which will enable me to take my career to the next step."

There are more than 4,000 job vacancies within the adult social care sector in Hertfordshire alone, and Herts Good Care Service has placed 720 people into roles across the county.

For more information about how to carve out a career in the adult social care sector, go to http://www.hertsgoodcare.com

HCPA also works closely with their partners at Hertfordshire County Council, the Care Quality Commission, Clinical Commissioning Groups, Skills for Care and other public bodies, to help make positive changes in the Hertfordshire adult social care sector.