“A man who I used to support has come back to visit me. He’s married now, he’s got kids, has a job and I’ve had a part to play in that. It’s very rewarding.” Kolil, contracts manager for a Social Care company
Kolil began his career in care as a support worker in an outreach support service where he worked with the team responsible for arranging activities for the residents like outdoor excursions to parks, the cinema and museums.
What he enjoyed and was most proud of in this role was that the work he did brought the residents together and helped to develop better peer support.
Working in social care also offered plenty of professional development opportunities which Kolil made sure he took advantage of by completing many of the training programmes his employer had to offer. These included leadership and management, health and safety and mental health and safeguarding courses.
Kolil has since progressed into a managerial role within a service that provides accommodation for adults with mental health needs, and those experiencing alcohol or drug dependency.
He says that the training opportunities that are available in adult social care have been fundamental in helping him develop the skills needed to progress in his career.
In his current managerial position, Kolil takes pride in leading his team and applies his experience from his earlier roles. “Where I work now, we collaborate with many partners such as drug and alcohol services, musicians and complimentary therapists to organise events and sessions that will benefit our support recipients’ well-being,” shares Kolil.
Kolil loves empowering the residents where he works to progress and lead independent lives. “There’s a lot of personal satisfaction in understanding that I’ve made an impact,” he says.
“A man who I used to support has come back to visit me. He’s married now, he’s got kids, has a job and I’ve had a part to play in that. It’s very rewarding.”
Kolil feels very passionate about mental health in the Asian community and would like to take an active role in challenging misinformation and perceptions about how mental health affects anyone and everyone.
Being fluent in Hindi and Bengali has played to Kolil’s strengths in his role as there’s a number of residents where he works of Bangladeshi heritage. His language skills have been extremely valuable, especially when communicating with families.
Kolil recommends a career in adult social care and wants to make more people aware of the career development and progression opportunities that it offers. The fact that you’ll likely work in a multi-disciplinary team means that you’ll learn so much.
“You can have a long career – a job in adult social care offers far more than a short-term job and can be so incredibly rewarding,” says Kolil.
If you want to make a positive difference to the lives of others like Kolil, a career in care could be for you. To find out more and to see which roles are available near you, visit www.adultsocialcare.co.uk
