AFC Wulfrunians announce new sponsor

Fairway Homecare, a company that places carers into healthcare career opportunities, and its training provider, Embark Learning Care Academy, has been revealed as a new sponsor of AFC Wulfrunians for the 2023 season.

To further extend its reach in the West Midlands, Embark Learning Care Academy, which trains local people to become fully qualified carers, has a new base at the Castlecroft Stadium in Wolverhampton, to be utilised as a learning and recruitment hub for the local people of Wolverhampton, providing free training and employment opportunities for some 500 people in 2023.

Holding its courses at Wulfrunians is expected to create more than 500 new carers over the next 12 months, leading to more than 9,500 hours of care provision to the area per week, or almost half a million hours of care per year, which will make a huge difference to the chronic staffing issues and skills shortages the industry is currently facing.

While taking a Health and Social Care course would usually cost applicants £2,000 per person, through Embark Learning Care Academy, it’s completely free for the recruits and allows them to get all of their qualifications and into a job in just four weeks.

After the training, the staff on the Fairway Homecare side of the business will place these newly qualified carers into work, whether that’s domiciliary care or working in one of the many care homes in Wolverhampton and surrounding areas.

This is the latest opening in a string of learning hubs across the region for Embark Learning Care Academy, with hubs also at Birmingham Moseley Rugby Club and offices in Royal Sutton Coldfield and Telford, as it looks to work closely with the local community, providing access to anyone looking to start their career in health and social care.

More than 2,000 people in the West Midlands have already completed the industry leading training, giving individuals the key skills and knowledge needed to become the care and support staff for the future.

Operations director, Alex O’Neill, said: “We’re so pleased that we have expanded yet again and have a new training hub, the facilities at AFC Wulfrunians are fantastic and allow us access to new candidates that might want to work in the healthcare sector. We’re looking forward to this new partnership and we’re sure it’ll be a successful one.

“Once these carers have their nationally recognised qualifications through Embark Learning Care Academy, it’s up to our staff in Fairway Homecare to place them into a work environment that suits them. As we serve a host of different care facilities, such as care homes and domiciliary care, our new carers will be able to choose what setting they’d most prefer to work in .

“Fairway has incredible relationships with its clients, so I’m certain that these new members of staff will be able to be placed into a new job in a timely fashion and enjoy a wonderful career in this industry.”

AFC Wulfrunians’ club director, Neil Barnfield, commented: “We were looking at a number of companies to work in partnership with but wanted one that shared our drive and passion. From the first meeting with Alex, we knew that it would be a perfect fit for the club.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily