Thriving as a care worker after 20 years unemployed
Double amputee Mark is thriving as a care worker at Cera after 20 years of unemployment, thanks to our Coalition to get Britain Back to Work.
Mark's Story
Double amputee Mark is thriving as a care worker at Cera after 20 years of unemployment, thanks to our Coalition to get Britain Back to Work.
Mark was let go from his job in retail 20 years ago when he was no longer able to work due to complications arising from his diabetes.
He developed infections and ulcers in his feet and legs, which over the course of many years of treatment eventually led to below-the-knee amputations in both legs.
Years spent not working left Mark lacking in confidence and he felt that employers would not see past his health issues and disability. The longer it went on, the harder it was to imagine how he would get back to work.
That all changed for Mark when Maximus – one of Cera's Back to Work recruitment partners – handed him a leaflet in a shopping centre. Maximus matched Mark with a job coach, who quickly spotted his potential.
His job coach learned that despite his own health issues Mark had taken on caring responsibilities for his family, looking after his mother-in-law and his father-in-law, who has Alzheimer's and vascular dementia.
Within weeks Mark had applied for and was offered a job as a care support worker at Cera, delivering personal care for elderly or vulnerable people.
"When I heard I had got the job at Cera," Mark says, "my smile was the width of the room. I was absolutely gobsmacked that a company could look past the disability and say, 'He can still do the job'. It took a huge weight off my shoulders, because out of work you feel useless, like you're no good to anybody."
Mark went on a four-day course to learn how to use bed hoists, before going to shadow carers on home visits. He started working two days a week in February.
"The first few weeks I used to get home and I was absolutely shattered," he says. "But thankfully the staff I was working with understood. They didn't rush me. And then I got used to it. I have never looked back. My life has taken a full turn and it is absolutely brilliant."
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Author: Sian Hughes
