Professional Care Workers’ Week

 Professional Care Workers’ Week aims to promote awareness about and raise the profile of the approximately 2 million professional care workers throughout the United Kingdom! 

History of Professional Care Workers’ Week

Professional Care Workers’ Week got its start in the United Kingdom in 2018 when it was founded with the hope of showing some much needed appreciation to care workers. This event seems to have originally been celebrated as one day in early September, but it then began to gain even more traction when it was changed to an entire week.

By 2020, the organizers for the event became The Care Workers’ Charity, who has been responsible for both in person and online events for education, collaboration, connection and fun each year since that time.

The specific idea behind featuring “professional” care workers is to call attention to the fact that care is a highly skilled profession but many care workers are not always seen as professionals. With a fragmented social care system, many care workers fall into spaces of inconsistent training, low pay, high turnover and other detrimental factors that impact their work.

Professional Care Workers’ Week works to highlight the professionalism of this field, including the diverse skill set that care workers bring to their roles, along with the need for safety, transparency, accountability and more. With the increase of a wider understanding of the challenges of those who work in adult social care, the hope is to build collaboration, foster best practices, share experiences and raise the quality of the environment for all care workers and their patients.

How to Celebrate Professional Care Workers’ Week

Thank a Professional Care Worker

Take some time during this special event to pay special attention to a care worker. Whether it is someone you personally receive care from, someone who cares for a family member, or a friend who works in the field, Professional Care Workers’ Week is the ideal time to show appreciation and thanks! Write them a thank you card, send them an email, or take them out for a coffee just to say how much they are cared for.

Organize Events for Professional Care Workers’ Day

Care providers can use this week to show how much they appreciate their professional care worker teams by taking some time to express gratitude for their hard work. Host a lunch or coffee hour, have a special cake or a cookie tray, decorate with balloons and streamers, or offer certificates of recognition for a job well done. Get creative with ways to make these extra special care workers feel extra special!

Join Some Care Workers’ Week Events

As the host of this event, The Care Workers’ Charity puts on various events throughout the week. From round table panels to wellbeing webinars, from fundraisers to networking events, Professional Care Workers’ Week offers all sorts of activities for people in the industry to participate in. Check out the organization website for more details and to register.