Cardiff and Vale College key worker student Chloe is supporting people with disabilities

Chloe Thurlbert, a Level 2 Beauty Therapy student at @CAVC, is another CAVC learner who has been working on the front line during the pandemic.

In her role as a Support Worker Chloe helps people with disabilities live an independent life, offering different support to people with different needs. Her duties range from personal, cooking, cleaning, shopping, medications and daily activities to normal day to day care.

Chloe has been working in supported living for just over a year.

“I applied for this job as I wanted to help people and make a difference to people’s lives,” the 21-year-old from Barry said. “I saw this job and got an interview which was successful.”

Working in supported accommodation during the pandemic has brought its challenges. Alongside her course, Chloe is currently doing long day shifts and 13 hour night shifts.

“This is something I love doing but in these uncertain times it’s very hard due to the fact that none of the clients can leave the house to do their day to day things,” Chloe explained. “Sometimes that can be hard for them to understand but it is in their best interest!

“So we’ve been holding some quizzes, BBQs, water fights, games and puzzles.”

Chloe believes her CAVC course has helped her a lot with the skills to be able to plan and time her working day, and with her confidence and ability to communicate with people from a range of backgrounds and professions.

“I would also like to thank my tutors for being so understanding at this time and giving me a little longer to get things done as my shifts aren’t easy and working overnights and long shifts can make it hard to find the time to do things,” she said.