How a circus performer and a cabin crew member transferred their 'people skills' to working in a care home

From touring around the country appearing in festivals and on TV shows to jetting to destinations from Costa Rica to Peru, two care workers talk about how their "people skills" from their old careers were perfect in landing a new career in social care.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the unemployment rate has risen to nearly five per cent in the three months to October, and up to 1.7 million people have been made jobless brought on by COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, however, jobs in the social care sector have seen an extra 74,342 job vacancies this year.

Nellsar Care Homes is just one such company helping to recruit people from different backgrounds to work in one of its 13 care homes based in Kent, Surrey and Essex.

Danielle Martin recently joined Nellsar as a recreation and well-being champion at The Old Downs Residential Care Centre, near Dartford, Kent.

In her last career and known by her stage name Daniella D’Ville, Ms Martin was a circus and sideshow entertainer and had graced the stage and screen for more than a decade before the pandemic hit, appearing in a variety of theatre shows, festivals, cabarets, and TV shows.

A classical dancer and holder of seven Guinness World Records, Ms Martin recalls how she went from sword swallowing and snake charming to caring for Nellsar’s elderly residents.

Ms Martin said: “The events of this year meant all my jobs were cancelled, so I was looking for new work. I actually didn’t even know this type of job existed until I found it online and as I read more about it, I realised how suited I would be for it.

“My previous role and being a recreation and well-being champion are very different jobs in one sense, but there are similarities. In both, you want to make people smile, grab their attention and get them to come on a journey with you and offer some escapism.”

Transferring her skills as an entertainer for the general public, Daniella plans to use her experience in producing large-scale events to create captivating, fun-filled activities for her new audience; the residents at The Old Downs.

'I knew I would fit well into a care environment'

Another new employee of Nellsar’s Lukestone Care Centre, in Maidstone is Hayley Bowles, who has joined, as a recreation and well-being liaison.

Having spent 15 years with British Airways as long-haul flight cabin crew, jetting to destinations from Costa Rica to Peru and everywhere in between, Ms Bowles, like many airline cabin crew, found herself jobless following the pandemic.

Ms Bowles said: “As cabin crew, I was always keen to be on hand to assist the elderly on board, which is how I knew I would fit well into a care environment. Helping people comes naturally to me. My role was centred around communication and I was required to keep people safe and deal with every situation. People skills and emotional intelligence were key.”

Ms Bowles is used to working with different people, a different mix of personalities and dynamics, which is the same as found in a care home.

“It’s about getting to know people really well so you can build up trust and friendship.”

Since the pandemic began in March, Nellsar has taken on people from all different career backgrounds.

Martin Barrett, managing director at Nellsar, said: “We promote and seek out creative, transferable skills across our highly professional workforce and so it was only right to offer opportunities to those who behold these unique skillsets and who found themselves at unforeseen crossroads in their careers.

“Some of whom hadn’t previously worked or even thought about a career in social care, but who have excelled in their new roles and are now crucial team members in their respective homes.

“The clue is in the name of social care; it’s about being able to care and show empathy, understanding and compassion to others. Ultimately, we work in the people sector, and if others have had experience working and engaging with the elderly, then the opportunity is there to transfer those skills into a new, exciting career where they can make a real difference to people’s lives.”

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