It was a lightbulb moment for Adrian Loveless that switched him over to life as a care professional.

After 25 years a retail manager for Pets at Home and then Curry’s, Adrian suddenly realised he had reached his limit selling TVs when his fiercely independent parents needed the help of carers to continue to lead fulfilling lives.  

“I suddenly thought ‘that’s the job for me’ ” he said. “At the end of each working day, I wanted to feel I had made a real difference to somebody’s life”.

Adrian never looked back and has worked as a care professional for the last nine years. He supports people in the community to regain their independence and build up their confidence after an illness or a fall or other difficulty.

He said: “You never get bored in this job. Every day brings different challenges and different people. I see my job as helping people young and old, feeling they are worth something, feeling that they can do things and make a contribution and that they can have a good quality of life.

“When people come out of hospital they are at first so relieved to be at home; everybody wants to be at home, all your memories are there, all your familiar things. Then the reality hits them that they can’t do the things they used to be able to do. My job is to support them to get back to doing things for themselves to make them feel they have worth.

“This job gives you all the training you need to make those decisions that can make people’s lives better.

“My work also makes a difference to families who are often so grateful that somebody is there to give the care needed to their loved one. You never get tired of seeing that look of gratitude and relief”.