Caretakers work in many areas of the NHS and Social Care and are essential to the smooth running of many different services including security and maintenance.
As a part of the Estates Services staff team, you might work on repairs to the buildings and interiors, disposing of waste, moving equipment and furniture and arranging other skilled maintenance staff to attend for larger repairs.
Working life
Working as a Caretaker means that you will take part in a variety of tasks each day to keep services operating smoothly and undertaking repairs where necessary. You could:
- Supervise car parking
- Maintain the grounds in your workplace
- Responsible for opening and locking the building at the beginning and end of the day
- Test fire systems and other alarms to ensure they are fully working
- Take deliveries
Working as a Caretaker in Estates Services could mean that you work in or across:
- Acute hospital settings
- Community hospital settings
- For a GP Surgery
- In a community setting
- For NHS England
- At the head office of an NHS Trust
- In Social Care
Sometimes you may have to travel between sites so may use an NHS van or one of your own.
Requirements
Becoming a Caretaker in the Estates Services team usually does not need specific qualifications. NHS and Social Care employers will expect good literacy and numeracy skills as these are an important part of working in Estates Services. Depending on the role, some employers may ask for GCSEs or equivalent qualifications. When applying for a role in the Estates Services team there may be other skills or qualifications required but this will depend on the role.
Employers may also require you to have some relevant work experience or knowledge of having worked in a similar role previously. If you are considering a role in the estates services team, it is a good idea if you can demonstrate where you have previously worked or volunteered in a similar role or where you have gained an experience of the workplace.
Working in Estates Services will provide further opportunities to develop your career through apprenticeships and internal training and there are sometimes other ways to access employment in estate services such as traineeships or internships depending on the Trust you work for.
Personal characteristics
To work successfully as a Caretaker, you need to consider your own personal characteristics. You would need to have the following attributes or similar:
- Be accurate and methodical and have good attention to detail
- Be able to work as part of a team but also able to use your own initiative
- Be able to work with all people from various backgrounds with different experiences
- Be physically fit
- Be reliable
- Be health and safety aware
Skills required
To work successfully as a Caretaker, you also need to consider the skills that you have. You would need to demonstrate the following:
- Be well organised and able to plan your time
- Be able to communicate with a variety of people using different methods
- Have positive customer service skills
- Have good attention to detail
- Be able to work alone
- To take responsibility for the work you do
- Have good manual skills
Training and development opportunities
When you begin to work in the estate services team, you will receive the training you require to be able to undertake the role successfully. You will receive an induction which will introduce you to the department you will be working in, will support you in accessing the IT systems where required and will ensure you are aware of the policies and procedures you will be required to follow in the undertaking of your role. You will also have to complete any statutory and mandatory training that your employer requires such as fire training, data security training and customer service.
As an Estates Services team member, you will be encouraged to work towards further qualifications such as NVQ’s. You could also undertake an apprenticeship qualification to help you progress in your career.
Career development opportunities
Once you have experience working within the estate services team, there are other roles you could progress into. You could become a supervisor or team leader or supervise the work of other colleagues. You could also become an estate services manager or progress into other areas of support.
Pay and benefits
Caretakers usually work around 37.5 hours per week. Depending on the role and the setting you work in, you may be required to work nights, evenings or weekends.
Caretakers in the NHS are paid using the Agenda for Change (AfC) system and will typically start their career on AfC band 2 but with experience, further training and additional qualifications, can progress further up the pay scale.
Caretakers working for Social Care settings will be paid according to the employer they work for and the remuneration for the role will be shown on their job advert.
Other benefits of working within the estate services team include access to a pension scheme, health service discounts such as a Blue Light Card and 27 days of annual leave in addition to bank holidays.