Meet our expert home care trainers
There is nothing about care that our trainers don’t know. All of them have been carers themselves, and so truly understand what you need to know to be the very best carer yourself.
Our training team runs in-depth courses every week of the year that involve a combination of interactive classroom sessions and practical exercises. Thanks to their knowledge and expertise, our carers can feel confident as they take the first steps on their journey into care with Helping Hands.
Regional Trainer
Brendan Conlon
Brendan joined the Helping Hands team in 2016, bringing over 30 years’ experience in health and social care and over 10 years as a training consultant.
“I develop our carers to deliver the highest standards of care for our customers by providing excellent practical training using a variety of learning methods,” Brendan said. More recently he’s been supporting our first-ever training event in Greece held for new live-in carers who are coming to work in the UK.
Brendan shared about his position at Helping Hands. “I love my role – it’s varied, challenging and rewarding. And it’s fulfilling to know that my involvement is helping carers to receive the support, guidance and confidence so they can offer a quality service to our customers.”
I know how daunting it can be for carers going out on placement into a new customer’s home, and it’s part of my job to ensure that they feel comfortable, confident and competent.
Brendan, Regional Trainer
Carer Training Officer
Lisa Barley
Lisa is one of the trainers behind our award-winning carer training programme. “What we do is so important,” she explained. “I am always so conscious that we select, train, and only pass the very best carers – if they aren’t good enough, they just don’t pass! I never forget that we are caring for vulnerable people of all ages, with many challenging conditions.”
Lisa enjoys sharing her passion, experience and favourite stories on the training courses. “It’s incredibly rewarding as I now get the opportunity to pass on my knowledge and hands-on experience to new live-in carers.
“I’ve worked hard and been rewarded – I’ve developed from carer to trainer, and now to regional trainer. Helping Hands really develop their team and want them to succeed,” she added. “I’m a good example of what is possible!”
Moving & Handling Trainer
Julie Mills
After starting out as a carer herself in 2002, Julie joined the training team some years later to pass on her experience and knowledge to new care assistants. She now specialises in safe practices for moving and handling.
“I specialise in ensuring that all of our moving and handling training is of a consistently high quality as more people are providing moving and handling training to carers.”
Amongst Julie’s impressive list of qualifications, including three NVQs, coaching and mentoring, and providing care for conditions such as stroke, cerebral palsy and Parkinson’s (to name a few), she is also a Level 2 Risk Assessor at Helping Hands.
Specialist Dementia Trainer
Jayne Vale
Jayne switched careers in 2004 to join for Helping Hands. She said about the move, “Looking back, I wish had started working in care years ago. Now I make a positive difference in people’s lives.”
Following many years as a carer herself, and supporting people living with a wide range of conditions, Jayne joined the training team to pass on her knowledge and expertise to other carers. She now trains new carers coming from Spain and leads our dementia training.
Jayne talked about the people she trains on a weekly basis. “We get to meet a variety of people from all walks of life, all with very different personalities, but they all have one thing in common: they all want to help, support and provide care for those that are not able to do so for themselves.”
Jayne is an inspiration to all. I learnt so much knowing that the person who taught me has been there themselves, and taught with so much passion.
Tom, a Helping Hands carer
Other people are interested in...
We’re here to talk through the many job opportunities available here at Helping Hands. Call us on 08437816372 if you’d like to join our team.
