National award shows Nicola really cares (From Somerset County Gazette)
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National award shows Nicola really cares
4:30pm Thursday 12th July 2012 in Health By Newsdesk
Nicola Whitworth with her award at the Acacia Training Centre. PHOTO: Steve Richardson
A WOMAN from Taunton is celebrating after her efforts to get people back to work have been recognised with a national award.
Nicola Whitworth outshone nominees from around the country to win the Care Trainer Award in the Great British Home Care Awards for her work at Somerset Care at Home.
She said: “I was a bit surprised, but really pleased. I’m really chuffed for the company – this is for all my colleagues.
“I work with the local job centre, employers and job hunters, offering an introduction to the care level 1 qualification, which gives people the opportunity to get an interview and a work trial in the care sector.
“We’ve had some really good successes and I think I was chosen to train on it because of my enthusiasm – it’s important to excite people who haven’t worked for a while.”
An awards spokesman said: “Nicola has a real person-centred approach to training, encouraging each individual to take responsibility for their own development.
“The judges were impressed with her delivery of the employability scheme with the local job centre to attract new staff into our sector.”
