Welcome and thank you for your interest in becoming a Support Worker.
Our rapid growth over the past decade has only been possible because of the talent and dedication of our fantastic colleagues.
Every day, our staff support people with learning disabilities and mental health illness to achieve their potential. Whether you want to move into care work for the first time, or you already have experience and want to find the right place to progress, we welcome people who share our absolute commitment to quality and respect for every individual.
We offer a highly supportive environment in which you'll constantly learn and develop, and gain the care qualifications you want to achieve. All of our Managers started with us as Support Workers, so they're excellent examples of the opportunities for promotion at CTTM. As an established Privately Owned Organisation we can offer our team members job security but most importantly we promise to listen.
Jane Nash
HR Director
About Care Through The Millennium
Care Through The Millennium (based in the West Midlands) was founded in 1996 by Christopher and Sue Higgins with the main aim of creating a caring family environment offering the highest levels of care and support to the service users who live in our homes.
We currently have a workforce of around 340 staff based in our care homes across South Birmingham and Warwickshire, supported living service and head office.
Find out what it's like to work here.
Arif - Support Worker
My background is pretty varied! Before I moved into this sector I was actually a lab technician, and began my career in engineering. I'm also a registered child-minder, but it was voluntary...
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Arif - Support Worker
My background is pretty varied! Before I moved into this sector I was actually a lab technician, and began my career in engineering. I'm also a registered child-minder, but it was voluntary work in hospitals (in palliative contexts, often with older and frail patients) that really got me interested in care work. I'm coming up to 10 years as a Support Worker with a number of organisations in the Midlands, and I've been with CTTM for about two and a half years.
I support a man with complex needs in a supported living setting, encouraging him with his care and health action plans. He's about 53, similar to me and that's helpful - a big age difference can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. We get on well, and I really enjoy the work. Every day's different: my managers are excellent, really friendly and respectful, and I feel part of a really good team.
CTTM is a really good company - I've worked for half a dozen care organisations, and CTTM is one of the best. There's training and development if you want it - I had no qualifications when I started, but they've helped me gain NVQ level 2 & 3 - but there's no push into management, which suits me as I prefer the day-to-day work. I feel well supported and I can discuss anything with my manager, she's fantastic.
What initially attracted me to CTTM was the location as I wanted to work close to home. I already knew I could do the work, so it was the perfect match, and it was a really great decision all round. There's plenty of opportunity to work overtime if you want to, and I really enjoy going to work.
The personal qualities that you need to do this job are plenty of patience and great listening skills - even when you're getting to the end of a 12-hour shift - and the self-awareness to keep learning all the time. You need to be adaptable and on-the-ball, because circumstances can change quite quickly; and you need loads of empathy.
Stuart - Senior Support Worker
It was an adviser at the job centre who told me about support work and CTTM. Although I live close by, I hadn't heard of them and had never considered support work before...
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Stuart - Senior Support Worker
It was an adviser at the job centre who told me about support work and CTTM. Although I live close by, I hadn't heard of them and had never considered support work before. Seven years later, I've gained level 2 and 3 Care Diplomas and I'm lucky enough to have been promoted to Senior Support Worker.
My role combines direct contact with service users as a support worker, as well as a certain amount of paperwork and supervision - I'm responsible for supporting the team, reviewing budgets and logging incidents, for example. I also deal with external professionals such as community nurses, administer medication and manage the rotas. It can be quite full-on - I sometimes do 6 shifts a week - but it's hugely rewarding and satisfying work
We support people with a range of different mental health illness and learning disabilities. Six service users share the house I work in, and we rotate who we work with, always focusing on enabling service users to have as full a life as possible. This ranges from teaching them how to cook to taking them on days out or holidays - even as far as Barbados on one occasion! You might have some 1:1 time with a single service user, or be working with two or three at the same time.
We provide a home, not an institution. Everything is "person-centred", which is the reason for shifts being 12 hours. Continuity and stability is important for service users, and often their families remark on the differences they see in their sons or brothers. Our aim is to avoid service users returning to hospital or secure settings, and so we encourage them to act in a different way - moving them forward in their journey.
It can be emotionally challenging work, but the rewards are far greater than the challenges. One service user comes to mind, who I've worked with for two or three years. He had had a difficult background and could behave aggressively. I built a rapport, tried to understand his behaviours, and a clear change took place over time. From being unable to cook, he can now make a roast dinner; he's taken responsibility for his medication, and is living more independently.
If someone is interested in this work, I'd say you need to be calm and patient, with a caring approach and a real commitment to supporting people - even when they get of bed on the wrong side! You need to have the time and willingness to really make the work part of your life, and be good at managing your time in a busy and changeable workplace. CTTM gets a lot of ticks from me as an employer - their standards are really high, which is important, and things like training, qualifications and promotion opportunities are all there for you if you work hard.
Carl - Senior Support Worker
I was only 19 when I started at CTTM. Though I subsequently did a short stint in IT, the office environment wasn't for me and soon came back to support work. It's now been nine years and every day is...
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Carl - Senior Support Worker
I was only 19 when I started at CTTM. Though I subsequently did a short stint in IT, the office environment wasn't for me and I soon came back to support work. It's now been nine years, and every day is still just as varied and satisfying. For me, the supported living setting is most rewarding, as you're really a part of the service user's life, and can really see the progress your support enables.
I've always had an interest in mental health, which probably helps but isn't essential. Before I started work here, I'd assumed the role would be quite physical; it's actually more about personal/emotional care (mental health), and that's very interesting. To be honest, I've also learned a lot about myself. You learn to better understand how the mind works and how you can have a positive impact - it's really rewarding.
My service user has a self-contained flat, and I support him with day-to-day things: typically I might help to plan his day, oversee medication, safe-guarding, cooking, cleaning, personal care, But there's also emotional as well as practical support - he is less able to cope with everyday situations, and I can work to improve his experience of independence. You learn skills to help you manage challenging behaviours, and the work helps you grow and develop personally too.
Initially I was a bit daunted by some of the paperwork - care plans, medication plans, risk assessments, monitoring charts and so on - but you soon get to grips with it and it's not too bad. You hear lots of negative stories in the media about care homes, but that couldn't be further from my experience of CTTM. It's a very professional, caring and dedicated organisation. The policies and procedures are good, there is ongoing training, and I feel supported by the management and by HR.
People who are thinking about a career as a support worker need to be motivated and dedicated to caring for others; willing to learn; and happy to be taken out of your comfort zone.
Being a Support Worker
We offer fantastic opportunities to support Younger Adults with learning disabilities and complex needs.
Whether you have experience within the care sector, or you fancy a career change, CTTM can support you with the training and guidance to enable you to make a difference to vulnerable people's lives by joining a team of people just like you.
This work can be life-changing in more ways than one. Many of our team members joined CTTM with no previous experience and have now achieved qualifications and promotions in management.
Your day supporting the Services Users might include:
- Going to the gym, a football match or accessing other community activities.
- Support with domestic chores.
- Choosing and wrapping a present for a family member.
- Finding some good recipes, make a shopping list and go shopping.
- Maintaining their personal hygiene prompting and supporting them as necessary.
- Maintaining relationships with family and friends.
- Support with attending college, voluntary work or placements.
In return, we offer:
- Pay rates above minimum wage.
- Excellent training and qualifications available.
- Rewards scheme and 'Refer a Friend' bonus.
- Pension scheme and employee assistance programme.
- Access to the Blue Light discount card.
- A full-time permanent position.
Our locations
Shift Patterns
We have various permanent shifts on offer.
You'll work an average of 42 hours per week over a two-week period (this will include working weekends and bank holidays).
Week one: 3 x 12 hour shifts
Week two: 4 x 12 hour shifts
EXAMPLE shift pattern below:
WEEK ONE
WEEK TWO
You'll also be employed to work either day shifts or night shifts:
Please note:
Where we can, we will try to alternate working weekends.
Some services may require you to sleep-in on occasion
Requirements
You'll need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19
You'll also need an enhance DBS check.
If you'd like to find out more, call 0121 433 5666 or email recruitment@cttm.co.uk
We can only consider applications from candidates who currently have the right to work in the UK, we do not hold a Tier 2 sponsor license.
If you do not currently have the right to work in the UK, we are unable to respond to your application. Thank you.
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