WHEN Rachel Dedman and Amanda Butler reached their tenth anniversary at Corinium Care, their boss couldn’t let the occasion go by without a celebration.
So Managing Director Camilla Miles arranged a trip to the Billy Elliot show in London – and took the whole company along for the ride.
Ten staff piled into a bus at the Corinium Care offices in Nailsworth, had a luxury picnic on the way, stopped off for some shopping in Kensington, and enjoyed the show at the Victoria Palace Theatre.
“It was a very nice gesture,” said Amanda. “The show was excellent, and it was great to share the event with everyone else. We’re a very close-knit team.”
Amanda, Director of Operations at Corinium Care live-in care agency in George Street, grew up in Minchinhampton. She worked in the newspaper industry until 1998. In 1999 she met Camilla Miles when they both lived in Bisley and walked their dogs together.
Amanda started working for Camilla in an administrative role for a few hours a week in 2000. She became Director of Operations in 2007.
“I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone. I’m very proud of the company and of what we’ve achieved in ten years,” she said.
Rachel grew up in Nailsworth. She trained as a nursery nurse, and then as an accounting technician. She is now Company Secretary.
“It’s a pleasure to have been involved in the growth of Corinium Care. And the trip to Billy Elliott was wonderful – a very memorable evening,” she said.
Camilla paid tribute to Rachel and Amanda’s loyalty and hard work. “They’ve both been fantastic. Corinium Care wouldn’t be what it is today without them.”
She decided to book the Billy Elliot outing because she knew both wanted to go to the show. “It’s not the sort of thing their husbands are interested in, and it seemed like a good idea,” she said.
LIVE-IN care agency Corinium Care has been shortlisted for the prestigious National Training Awards.
The awards cover all industries in the UK. The aim is to find forward-thinking organisations that achieve outstanding success by investing in staff training.
Managing Director of Corinium Care, based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, is delighted to be a finalist in the category for training providers in the South West regional heats.
“We’re proud of our track record on training, so it’s fantastic to have that recognised by such a prestigious organisation,” she said.
NTA judges visited Corinium Care’s offices in George Street to examine training plans and evaluation reports, and speak to staff. The winners will be announced at an awards dinner in Bristol on October 15.
Corinium Care provides live-in care for the elderly and infirm, and young adults with physical disability. Set up in 1995, it has 12 staff in Nailsworth, 700 registered carers on its books, and offices in Zimbabwe, South Africa and New Zealand.
"high percentage of care agencies don’t offer training. But we consider it vital,” said Camilla Miles.
“We take carers on because they have the right personality and life skills. We then do our utmost to furnish them with the knowledge and skills they need before they’re placed with a client.
“The personal touch is everything at Corinium Care. If our carers are well equipped, both mentally and physically, that can only be better for our clients.”
Both staff and carers at Corinium Care undergo extensive and continual training and assessment.
The company recruits up to 16 new carers each month who attend a five-day training course before being placed with clients, to look after them in their own home.
Training includes everything from first aid and personal care to a session on dementia.
“We take pride in doing what we can to raise standards in the industry,” said Camilla.
Some carers come from Zimbabwe, South Africa and New Zealand and welcome the training they receive on arrival at Corinium Care as a chance to acclimatise to British culture.
One of the live-in carers who attended a dementia training course before starting a six-month placement with Corinium Care was Gill Peinke from South Africa.
“This training is absolutely fantastic – it’s one of the reasons I chose to work for Corinium Care rather than any other live-in care agency,” she said.
“It gives me confidence to do my job here. And when I go back home, I feel I’ll be more able to cope with my mother-in-law who has dementia.”
The National Training Awards are run by UK Skills on behalf of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.
