Encouraging young people to develop careers in social care
Project Background
This Facilitator project with Borderlinks aimed to show young people people what a career in adult social care could involve, the enjoyment they could gain from it, and to challenge some of the stereotypes and myths surrounding work in social care.
This was achieved through working with the people who used their services, alongside staff and volunteers, to create opportunities to engage young people in project activities, and through outreach work in schools and other community groups and services. This project was based in Berwick-upon-Tweed, England.
IMPACT Factfile
- Year: 2025 – 2026
- Delivery Model: Facilitator
- Four Nations: England
- Themes:
- Resources:
Project Engagement
The first three months of the project were spent speaking to as many people as possible who worked in the care sector or drew on care and support services in the Berwick-upon-Tweed area. As part of this work, Terri visited a number of Border Links groups in Berwick, Amble, Duns, and Kelso, covering communities across North Northumberland and the Scottish Borders.
Participants were incredibly welcoming and had thoughtful insights into the qualities they valued in carers, helpers, and enablers. Those who took part in the conversations said that staff should be kind, take an interest in them, and have the energy to participate in activities that they enjoyed. Conversely, many said they could not imagine why anyone would not want to work with them.
Border Links staff took part in an online survey that asked why they had chosen a career in social care and what might make the sector less attractive to young people. Respondents said they enjoyed the opportunity to use their teaching skills, seeing Border Links members grow in confidence and develop as individuals, and the flexibility provided by the group’s hours and locations. However, they also recognised that limited experience of working with adults with learning disabilities, long hours, and low pay could discourage young people from pursuing a career in social care.
Next Steps
The next stages of the project involved:
- Engaging with members in workshops to further explore what they value in the people who support them.
- Supporting a group of members to coproduce a video to promote working in social care.
- Running a focus group comprising young people, employers, employability projects and local and national government representatives to begin planning a summer event showcasing social care careers.
Video Workshops
One of the project outputs was a video designed to encourage young people to consider social care careers. Although Terri was initially unsure whether a video would be an effective engagement tool, this changed after meeting the Border Links’ Thursday group in Kelso, where the suggestion of creating a video immediately caught group members’ imaginations.
Terri also discovered that the group was already experienced in video production, having previously created a film as part of a campaign to keep their venue open.
Terri and the group facilitator discussed the idea and agreed on a series of six workshop sessions. Another member of staff also offered to write and record an original song for the video.
Watch the video, then explore what happened at each workshop through Terri’s reflections, below:
The first workshop: Planning the video
“During the first workshop session, the group explored what they wanted the video to achieve and discussed the music, equipment, and filming techniques that could be used to make it.
Members agreed that the video should include a musical element and suggested incorporating clips inspired by some of their favourite songs.
Following the session, I transferred the group’s ideas from my notes onto flipchart paper so they could be developed into a storyboard during the next workshop.”
The second workshop: Developing the storyboard
“The second video workshop with the Border Links’ Kelso group proved to be as much fun as the first one. During this time, we used the mood boards completed during the first workshop to develop notes to create a storyboard for the video.
Six storyboard panels were developed, featuring member interviews, footage of the group’s Sip ‘n’ Sing events, and a closing musical performance. Sip ‘n’ Sing is a monthly event with tea, singing, and dancing, which the group welcome all to attend.
During the workshop, we decided that some members of the group would wear capes in the video’s opening sequence and that we would include clips of the types of activities that members of the group enjoy participating in.”
The third workshop: Creating the script
“After the second workshop, I drew up the storyboard. I then took it back to show it to the group members the following week at our third video workshop. As the group had been practicing their singing between workshops, we focused on using musical instruments and producing the choreography and script for the video. Group members were allocated different production roles and worked together to agree on the interview questions that would feature in the film.
The whole group participated in recording the original song, Do You Want to Make a Difference?, that was used in our video. Group members were also very enthusiastic about filming a recording of the song.
In week five the group following the script we had previously developed together to film the various other scenes that was used in the video. Starting with a curtain drop, the video introduced the various activities that group members enjoy, using a photo montage. It also included a section on their Sip ‘n’ Sing sessions, as well as interviews with members of the group and the two leaders which shared how social care makes them feel.
The final segment, a song called Hello, was filmed in week six. Following this, the group re-recorded any segments that they felt could be further improved.
The group and I are really proud of the final version of the video and look forward to see it being used for its intended purpose of promoting careers in social care.”
– These reflections were written during the delivery of the project
Meet Our Facilitator: Terri Bearhope
