Leading Highland social care provider scoops major Scottish award
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A top national award has been won by the Highlands’ largest social care provider.
Highland Home Carers (HHC) won the Care Learning Award category at Scottish Care’s National Care at Home & Housing Support Awards.
HHC said the prestigious national award for its human resources and workforce development team served to “recognise the significant investments that HHC has made in training and education” as well as its “leadership” across the care sector.
The company runs an in-house Adult Social Care Academy, and HHC managing director, Campbell Mair, said the award also highlighted the importance of continuous training and learning within care at home and housing support services.
He added: “This award is a great achievement, for our HR and workforce development team, for HHC overall and for the Highlands.
“Established in 2022, Highland Home Carers’ Adult Social Care Academy is an employee-owned social enterprise. Since its inception the academy has grown its capacity to deliver a range of learning opportunities for both HHC colleagues and the wider sector. This award is great recognition of the work being done by the academy.
“Against a backdrop of an increasingly inaccessible higher education sector, the academy was accredited as an SQA Centre in 2023. The human resource and workforce development team that run the academy is currently supporting 18 colleagues through their SVQ2&3 qualifications, PDAs and CPL.”
Mr Mair added that the academy’s facilities were “sector leading.
“The academy provides a career pathway for operational and support colleagues regardless of the role they join HHC in,” he continued. “The team has a significant and positive impact on supporting colleagues throughout the sector to develop themselves by providing high-quality learning and development thus improving operational excellence throughout the Highlands.”
In receiving the award, HHC was particularly praised for the support it has given colleagues in the later stages of their careers, with many worried they would have to leave the roles they enjoyed immensely because they were hesitant or lacked confidence to navigate the world of SVQs. In addition to supporting colleagues the HHC team is supporting another provider whose business was at risk as skilled but unqualified care practitioners were going to have to leave the sector.
Scottish Care’s National Care at Home & Housing Support Awards, which marked their 18th consecutive year this year, took place in Glasgow last week. They were hosted by TV and music celebrity Michelle McManus and Scottish Care CEO, Dr. Donald Macaskill, The event was also attended by the minister for social care, mental wellbeing and sport, Maree Todd, who is also the MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross.
