THE health and care industry finds itself in dire circumstances with hundreds of thousands of vacancies waiting to be filled – but it means there’s an upside.
In fact, there are lots of opportunities for those interested in social care or looking to make a career change.
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And while you might think you need a qualification to get started in the health and care sector, one businesswoman is proving that isn’t always the case.
Mum-of-two Kim Page, 53, from Milton Keynes, is a health tech expert.
She’s spent over 20 years in digital health, helping the health industry to catch up with the rest of the digital world.
After starting in a job earning £35,000 a year, Kim quickly worked her way up the ranks to earn more than £150,000 a year in a role which she didn’t even need a degree for.
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She said: “I never really saw university as an option in my career journey.
“Even though I did pretty well in school, my career advisors suggested I become either an air hostess, nurse or teacher.”
But it was Kim’s dad who inspired her to work hard.
She said: “My father always said ‘If you work hard you can do whatever you want to’, so that’s what I did.”
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“Work has always come very naturally to me, I started doing a paper run at 13, and I wasn’t getting any pocket money so gave me a real sense of accomplishment to start earning some money.”
After school, Kim decided to do a BTEC in Business Studies, which she put her heart and soul into.
But her life took a turn as she soon met her husband Simon and had children not long after.
“Simon actually got sick after I did my BTEC, so I spent a lot of time as his carer,” she said.
“This meant when I was finally able to take on the working world I had no degree and not much experience.”
So Kim decided to stick with what she knew which was providing essential care.
She said: “I went to work as a branch manager to managing director for various social care companies and it served me very well especially as I didn’t need any qualifications.”
It’s pretty easy to get into social care roles, even managerial ones.
Most require no qualifications to start off with and offer wide career progression.
Kim explains these types of roles are not plain sailing, however.
She said: “The worst part was the 24/7 element of the services. It could be relentless.
“But my friends and family were proud of me and I was making a real difference.”
“The best part of the branch manager role was helping people, really impacting their lives. It’s a huge privilege. Much better than just clicking keys on a keyboard.
“I enjoyed the accountability.”
Kim went on to become a managing director/owner for a health consultancy for three years earning £50,000 and then became a board advisor for health startups which took her salary to £150,000 a year.
In the role, Kim was able to share the knowledge she had acquired over the past 10 years.
She became a lot more involved in the digital side of healthcare.
She said: “The board advisor role was scary. But it was well supported as soon you realise that all the experience you’ve had is very useful to share.”
With each promotion that she took, Kim noticed one thing about the industry, how desperately it needed to upgrade its systems.
She said: “People were still logging things on paper. It meant that admin took forever and only added more barriers to people getting the help they needed.”
Kim spent lots of time in her final role advising the health and social care industry on how they could catch up with the rest of the digital world but they were still very behind.
In the end, she decided to biggest way for her to make a difference was to take everything she knew and launch her own business specifically designed to make it easier for healthcare professionals.
She said: “It was a huge risk starting my business, I essentially went from £150,000 to between £20,000- £40,000, but I made sure I had a comfortable cushion of savings when I first launched.”
“It’s definitely been a learning curve, there is still so much to be done in levelling up the health tech industry.
“Companies like mine make a huge difference in breaking down geographical barriers and slashing the time it takes to do administrative work and I am totally committed to solving the problem.”
Now Isosconnect.com has successfully created a digital home for independent health and well-being practitioners who work alone or work privately, delivering millions of patient contacts every week.
Kim’s business provides resources, data management and security for thousands of patients.
After everything she has achieved, Kim says she doesn’t think going to university would have helped her career.
She said: “I actually think university would have made things more difficult for me because I spent time as a caregiver and a mum but had no work experience.
“I would have been at the back of the queue for job opportunities by the time I finished a degree.”
“The university of life taught me to be resilient which is an essential skill for this type of industry.”
If you are interested in the social care industry, there are certain steps you should take.
Kim says: “The industry is desperately struggling to attract new talent.
“Young people, in particular, have such a unique way of thinking, there are so many amazing opportunities in social care.
“As long as you are willing to work hard you can definitely grow your career through experiences.”
Care manager/director
A care manager would be expected to run a service or care provider. You will need to lead by example and provide excellent customer service to those in need and their families.
Some of the higher roles involve managing budgets and you will usually need to work with other organisations such as other care providers, professionals and local authorities.
It’s also important to bear in mind care is a 24-hour profession so you will likely be working 35 and 40 hours per week in shifts as opposed to a 9-5, and this could include evening and weekend work and sleep-ins.
Although this isn’t a degree-entry profession many care managers have management and leadership qualifications.
As you will be working with vulnerable adults and or children you will need to do a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check and should be registered with the CQC (Care Quality Commission) within six months of taking up a post.
Salaries for these roles range from £25,000 to £55,000 with some earning up to £70,000 a year.
Note that in some cases, where the role includes both clinical and commercial management, a nursing qualification is essential.
Health tech advisor
Getting into the health tech industry may be a little more difficult.
Like Kim, you will probably need years of experience in the sector before you can take on these kind of roles.
Even then a qualification in tech will most likely boost your chances.
Salaries for these types of roles start at around £35,000 and go up to about £82,000.
Depending on the care provider you work for you can expect a generous pension scheme and regular bonus for a successful performance.
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Consider taking management and leadership qualifications if you are interested in this type of work.
An apprenticeship in care leadership and management will provide you with the relevant managerial experience you need to take on a more senior role.
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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
