#birmingham, #jobs, #youngcarers, #volunteers, #freetraining, #accreditedcourse, #employability

1. Opening Doors for Carers
75 Harborne Road
Birmingham
B15 3DH
Tel 0121 452 1152
Dear Employers
I would like to introduce myself, My name is Emma Bytheway and I
am a Development Worker for the charity Opening Doors for
Carers, which is a small charity based in Birmingham, part of the
wider national charity The Carers Trust.
We are an employment and training advisory service to unpaid
carers and former carers looking to return to the workplace, and
we assist them with their journey, however far removed or close to
the labour market they may be, we work with them on a needs led
basis, to enable them to pursue fulfilling employment- whilst
accommodating their caring role at home.
!
!

2. Definition from the Carers Trust website, defining a carer:
The role of a carer
Each carer’s experience is unique to their own circumstances.
The causes of someone taking on caring responsibilities are varied
but can include:
Serious physical illness
Long-term physical disability
Long-term neurological conditions
Mental health problems
Dementia
Addiction
Learning difficulties
The duties of a carer
Just as the reasons why someone becomes a carer vary greatly,
the variety of tasks that a carer fulfils is diverse. They can include
the following duties:
Practical household tasks such as cooking, cleaning,
washing up, ironing, paying bills and financial management.
Personal care such as bathing, dressing, lifting,
administering medication and collecting prescriptions.
Emotional support such as listening, offering advice and
friendship.
Although the distinction is often made between a full-time or part-
time carer, there is not a minimum time requirement or age
restriction that “qualifies” someone as being more or less of a
carer.
Someone in their seventies who cares 24/7 for their spouse with
severe dementia is a carer. A teenager who offers emotional
support and helps to keep the household running as and when the
fluctuating nature of their parent’s mental health requires it — is
also a carer. The two situations are very different. Both are
individual examples of the 7 million carers in the UK today.

3. We are currently looking for employers within the City to
consider taking Young Carers (18-25 year olds) on work
placements to compliment an accredited employabilty course
we are running from the end of June, and would invite you to
consider the proposal, even if a position was only for a few
hours a week.
Please contact Service Manager Nancy Khan on 0121 452 1152 if
you are interested in pursuing this opportunity further- or even
having an informal discussion to gain more information about this.
Nancy’s email address is
nancy.khan@openingdoorsforcarers.org.uk- if you would prefer to
contact her by email.
We look forward to hearing from you in due course.
Yours faithfully
Emma Bytheway
Carers Employment Development Worker.