Bupa opens four new care homes with a 160 nursing roles available nationwide
Its nurses earn from £28,000 to more than £40,000 for a qualified clinical lead with training provided and opportunities for career progression
WANT to really make a difference?
Bupa has opened four new care homes this year — in Scunthorpe, Leeds, Edgbaston, West Mids, and Haywards Heath, West Sussex — creating job opportunities.
The firm has 160 nursing roles nationwide, in new homes in counties including Hertfordshire, Surrey, Kent, Berkshire and Herefordshire.
Its nurses earn from £28,000 to more than £40,000 for a qualified clinical lead.
Training is provided and there are opportunities for career progression.
According to a poll commissioned by the Royal College of Nursing, 90 per cent of nurses feel they make a difference to an older person.
That is something Maria Latour felt strongly about when she took a job at Bupa’s Trowbridge Oaks care home in Wiltshire in October 2016.
Originally from the Netherlands, Maria, 26, moved to Trowbridge in July 2015 after completing a four-year nursing degree.
She says: “My job gives me the opportunity to really get to know the people I care for.
“I get to sit with them and provide emotional support as well as physical care. The residents are incredible.
“It surprises people when I tell them I enjoy working on Christmas Day but it’s lovely to share special occasions with the residents.
“I’d urge anyone considering a care-home career to go for it. You will make a genuine difference.”
There has never been a better time to be a carer. This year, Bupa launched a global “fellowship” of its nurses and staff can win scholarships worth up to £10,000.
There is also the chance to join a global mentoring programme and access personal development opportunities. See .
AN ASK MASTER
IF you have aced a job interview and been offered the role, it makes sense to ask your new employer the right questions to ensure it really is the great fit you think.
Careers coach and author John Lees suggests asking the following questions before you seal the deal . . .
- How long was the last person in the job? Finding out how frequently people leave an organisation can be a good insight into its culture.
- How will the job change? This checks learning opportunities and shows your motivation to gain new skills.
- What will I be doing most of the time? Job descriptions tend to highlight the most appealing or glamorous parts of the job, so try to see the full picture. A lack of variety can prompt itchy feet.
- Can we talk about the offer? Focus on the ingredients that matter most to you – flexible working may be more important than money, for example, or vice versa.
- I’m glad you’ve chosen me. Can I ask why? This isn’t fishing for compliments – knowing what they see in you will help you understand what it wants you to deliver.
- Knockout Interview by John Lees (McGraw-Hill Education, £11.99) is out now
Jobs for bobbies
A FORMER police custody detention officer has launched a scheme for serving and excoppers to develop business skills, called Shifts To Success.
Founder Alexander Seery has also written a book, Police Officer To Entrepreneur, which has practical advice for finding work outside the force.
He says: “The skills ex-officers possess are invaluable in the force but they can’t be applied easily to career paths elsewhere. But being their own boss in their own business solves this.”
The programme’s next event takes place on May 8 at Park Regis in Birmingham.
Experts will be on hand to give advice on tailoring the skills developed in the police force for success in a competitive business market.
Find out more at .
JOBSPOT: NEXT needs a sales consultant for its branch at Manchester Airport. See for more info.
Present but not correct
MORE than one in three staff feels pressured to work overtime – and worries they will be judged negatively by bosses and colleagues if they leave work on time.
That is the grim finding in a new poll by employment agency TotalJobs, which found staff in Birmingham most likely to fall victim to so-called “presenteeism”.
Younger workers are most vulnerable to the phenomenon, with more than half of 18 to 34-year-olds worrying their boss or colleagues might think they aren’t working hard enough if they leave work promptly.
Martin Talbot, of TotalJobs, says: “Presenteeism is now an ingrained part of company culture but working longer hours doesn’t necessarily lead to greater output.
“A third of employers believe shorter working hours actually improve productivity.
“This, alongside the impact that poor work-life balance has upon morale and employee retention explains why employers are looking to take steps to ensure that their staff go home on time.”
JOBSPOT: NUTFIELD Priory Hotel & Spa, a 4H country retreat in Surrey, wants a receptionist. See .
A CARING CULTURE
BOOSTING workers’ wellbeing is easier than you think. Author Chris Dyer gives three steps for firms to ensure staff are happy.
- Pay a fair market rate. Earning more than the going rate ranks low on employees’ wishlists, but low wages detract from positive team-building.
- Satisfy people’s needs. Staff want to be heard. Do they get to help steer the firm? Are their concerns dealt with?
- Set up success. Informed staff develop better procedures and more readily accept decisions affecting them. Top firms make transparency a priority. Engagement equals health – and happiness.
- The Power Of Company Culture, by Chris Dyer, is out now (Kogan Page, £19.99).