A charity is encouraging people to think about choosing a career as a support worker saying they have jobs to fill in the local area.

Mencap relies on good quality support staff, a spokesman said, who added: “there are 1.4 million people with a learning disability in the UK, with Mencap supporting many thousands of those.”

Jon Moore, 36, of March, who has been a support worker for seven years, said: “I started working as a support worker after a career change.

“I was a chef before. People would often say I was a good listener and a real people person.

“I looked into options and found out about a support worker role. I looked into becoming a social worker, which would have meant going to university, which was not something I could have done with my family life. So becoming a support worker was very appealing. “I liked Mencap’s ethos and values. They have a modern and leading approach to supporting people with a learning disability which I wanted to be part of.”

Mr Moore supports six people at a residential care service.

“Everyone I support is different, they all have their own character, support needs and preference to the support they receive.

“Some people are more independent and just need a little bit of support to make choices, whereas other people need more support with eating, taking medicine and washing.

“I have a lot of memorable experiences since working at Mencap, I have supported people to go on their first day trips and holidays, which is great, but the best thing is when you have empowered someone to do something they thought they couldn’t ever do.”

Mencap has support worker vacancies in the local area.

To find out more visit www.mencap.org.uk/supportworker or call 01733 246 699.