A young support worker has described how important her Grandad when she decided she wanted to help care for people.

Courtney Edwards, 21, works as a support worker at Watford Day Service which has sites in Queens Road, Watford, and in Abbots Langley.

As part of Hertfordshire County Council’s Herts Good Care month, Ms Edwards explains how she left school at 16 but has focused on her new career path to become a fully qualified and experienced day service support worker.

She said: “My Grandad used to work as a driver at Greenhills Day Service; he used to tell me about his day and I would laugh at some of the stories so I thought I would like a career that followed in his footsteps and where I could help people.”

“Ever since I’ve worked in care, if I’m having a bad day and I come into work and see the people I support smiling at me, all my troubles are gone straight away; they’re so positive you can’t help but feel the same.”

“I’m the first to admit I wasn’t the best in school and exams absolutely terrified me so I left school with very few qualifications. I did four days a week on placement at a day service and one day a week with a tutor from North Herts College.

“I’ve now got so many qualifications and certificates to my name and have proved to myself that I can learn and develop myself to get the career I want.”

“It’s a way off, but eventually I’d love to become a paramedic. I’ll need to complete my Level 3 health and social care qualification before I can apply for university and study at degree level but I know now that if I work hard I can do it and that support is there to help me progress.”

“Sometimes people will say they don’t know how I do it; illness and personal care – that’s all people see but I tell them that’s only a small part of it, it’s the laughter and banter with the people I support that make up a huge part of my working day.”

“It’s a really rewarding job; it’s really varied and every day is different. You have to have the right mind set; you need to be patient, a good listener, open minded and prepared to try new things.”