Feel supported to achieve your goals with ECL

Tara applied for the role of sensory liaison officer within ECL’s Sensory Service which supports people who are partially sighted, blind, hard of hearing, deaf or deafblind to live independently.

As sensory liaison officer Tara was the first point of contact for people referring into ECL’s Sensory Support Service and responsible for undertaking the administration that this involved, such as completing certificates of visual impairment (CVIs) and running reports.

She started with ECL the week before lockdown in March 2020 – a challenging time  to start a new job! This didn’t faze Tara and her new team made it easy for her to settle into her new role, helping her to undertake all of her training online and keeping in touch regularly.

From day one she loved being a part of the sensory team and was inspired by the work of the rehabilitation workers who empower people with sensory loss to live safely and maintain independence and dignity in every aspect of daily life.

Tara says: “As soon I met the ECL rehabilitation workers and learnt about what they did, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I shared this goal with my line manager and she outlined a pathway to help me make it a reality.”

Tara was soon promoted from sensory administration assistant to rehabilitation assistant where she was responsible for undertaking sensory assessments to establish what support individuals coming into the service need. She was primarily working with people with hearing impairments, providing equipment, and assisting the rehabilitation workers with their cases.

As soon as an apprenticeship position became available within the ECL team, she was encouraged to apply and hasn’t looked back. She has just completed her two-year degree and is now a fully qualified visual rehabilitation specialist on the ECL Sensory team.

The Birmingham City University apprenticeship is a mix of on-the-job training and intense practical learning. Tara was paired with an ECL mentor, Rehabilitation Worker Gill Jones and shadowed her initially while learning. As she has progressed, this has developed from shadowing to joint working and now Tara is working independently with Gill on hand if she needs help. Tara attended Birmingham University every six weeks for lectures and assessments. She also had one study day a week, which ECL gave as protected time.

Speaking of her apprenticeship Tara says: “I have loved it, the week of intense learning in Birmingham was so valuable and featured people from all over the county in all different areas of sensory support. I met some great contacts who I will remain in touch with.

The qualified rehabilitation workers on the sensory team work to such a high standard that it inspires you to constantly aim for that level and keep improving yourself. I’ve never had that in a job before.”

“During my apprenticeship it was great to know that I had job security with ECL once I had qualified. My role at ECL has stayed the same, I’ve just stepped into that qualified bracket. With some apprenticeships there’s no guarantee that there’s a job for you at the end of it, so I am lucky.”

Gill Jones, Tara’s ECL mentor said: “Tara has taken to the role of rehabilitation worker with dedication and an extremely strong work ethic. She has improved the quality of life of all the customers she has met. Tara has a person-centred approach at the heart of everything she does, so everyone gets a tailored experience.

“She is a natural, demonstrating calmness, assurance, warmth, and consideration. Tara has an innate ability to build rapport with people and inspire confidence in their own abilities which make for excellent practice and customer care.

“It has been lovely to see Tara’s self-confidence grow as she has progressed through the apprenticeship and to see her enjoying her new role so much. It has been a pleasure to be her mentor, and she has made the job an extremely easy one.”

Tara’s view on ECL career progression:

“ECL has been incredible. I have always been very open with my line managers about my ambition to be a rehabilitation worker and they have encouraged me to take every opportunity that will get me there. All the qualified rehabilitation workers in the sensory team have encouraged and helped me from day one, giving me advice and passing down their study books. The sensory team is a very supportive environment; it’s been the best. I can’t fault how things have gone, the whole process from saying ‘this is what I want to do,’ to undertaking my apprenticeship has been amazing.”

Advice to others:

“Be open and honest with your line managers about your ambitions, they want to support you to achieve your goals, and they may know of options available to you that you may not have thought of. There are so many opportunities to grow within ECL, but unless you voice what you want to achieve, it won’t happen. Speak to people who are already in that area as they can offer so much advice and guidance. Before embarking on my journey I had lots of chats with our qualified rehabilitation workers. Before I went into the apprenticeship I shadowed them so I got a feel for the job. Do as much research as you can and really speak up and voice your goals because what you put out there really does come to you. The opportunities are there you just have to go for them!”

“You have to have patience and allow yourself to progress at your speed. Be realistic about the progression milestones you need to hit to reach your end goal. For me it was rehabilitation assistant, then starting my apprenticeship. Working as a rehabilitation assistant before my apprenticeship was perfect because I started my course with a wealth of knowledge that I’d gained from the team.”

She goes on to say: “It has been my career goal for such a long time to be a qualified rehabilitation worker that it’s definitely a ‘pinch me’ moment now that I am  qualified. I am going to be in tears at my graduation in July, I will be so happy.

“The team have this saying, that once you start working in sensory you get the ‘sensory bug’ and there’s no turning back because you become so passionate about it. This is certainly true for me. I have well and truly got the sensory bug!”