"It's the most rewarding job there is." Kerry's story to Dukeries Assistant Manager.

In June, we welcomed Kerry Phillipson to Autism East Midlands as our new Assistant Manager at our Dukeries day service.

Thinking back to when she was looking to change jobs, Kerry eventually decided to apply at Autism East Midlands after hearing the experience of a former colleague that had joined AEM as a Support Worker.

Speaking about the change she saw, she said:

When we asked Kerry about her experience, she spoke at length about the breadth of roles that she has worked in health and social care sector.

Kerry has 18 years experience in the sector which includes titles such as Support Worker, Senior Support Worker, Team Leader and now Assistant Manager. She says that this gives her a thorough understanding of what a job in this field can be like, and the impact that it can have on staff.

Kerry couldn't list only one favourite thing that she enjoyed about her job, so instead she listed several.

1. "Everybody is given a choice. People can do cook-and-eat sessions at the Dukeries, where they choose the ingredients, and can change their mind if they like. It's not institutionalised, service users can do what they want. That is how life should be."

2. "The job progression that AEM offers. I am halfway through my level 5 diploma right now. I think it's great that AEM are giving staff the skills to progress."

3. "Seeing service users happy and developing, even if its over years, it's the most rewarding job there is. We have a service user who regularly goes to the local chip shop. In the beginning, he only wanted to go to the chip shop with Steph (manager), but now he'll go with other people."

We'd like to thank Kerry for sharing her story and experiences with us.