North Tyneside social care worker talks of 'very rewarding' job in care careers recruitment campaign

Damian Martinez became a social worker at North Tyneside Council after graduating from university and is now a lead practitioner in the community wellbeing team.

He said: “It would be hard to describe a typical day as my job is so varied, but that is one thing I love about it.

“I find it very rewarding when I see people being able to live the life they choose to live.

“Unfortunately, that can not always be possible, which can be one of the hardest parts of the role, but if I have had a challenging day I can drive along the beautiful coast at North Tyneside and it calms me down, looking at the sea.”

Damian decided to get into social care after witnessing the role care workers played in looking after his ill mother-in-law.

He said: “When I saw the support the social worker gave us, I felt that I wanted to help make that difference.

“I set about retraining and went to Newcastle College, then to Northumbria University to study social work.

“I worked as a doorman while I studied, which doubled as really good experience for developing skills to communicate with a wide range of people.”

Damian’s story is part of the Made with Care North East campaign by local authorities to recruit staff in the field.

A report last year put the social care workforce vacancy rate in the region at 8.7%, equalling around 6,500 unfilled roles.

Damian said: “You just need an interest in people and to have their best interests at heart. The rest of the skills you need you can learn in training.

“If you crave job satisfaction and being the voice for service users, a job in adult social care at North Tyneside is the job you’re looking for.”

Association of Directors of Adult Social Services North East chair Jane Robinson added: “As our amazing people have told us, working in adult social care is a career like no other.

“If you are inspired by our stories then please search for ‘care careers’ online.”