189 care employers in Sandwell could find you

Working in care in Sandwell

Six towns, one borough: finding care work in Sandwell

Sandwell is not a single place but six towns, Oldbury, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, Tipton, Wednesbury and West Bromwich, packed closely together between Birmingham and the rest of the Black Country. Oldbury has the most care employers, with West Bromwich and Tipton close behind and Smethwick not far off. Home care agencies outnumber care homes here, so a lot of the work is in people's own houses, with rounds that rarely need long drives. Because the towns sit so tightly together, a carer in Tipton or Wednesbury can realistically work in a neighbouring town, or over the border in Dudley, Walsall or Birmingham.

This is a young and fast growing borough. Its population rose by 11 per cent between 2011 and 2021, much faster than England as a whole, and the median age is 37, three years below the national figure. Sandwell is also increasingly diverse: around a quarter of residents are Asian or Asian British, and India is now the second most common country of birth. If you speak Punjabi, Urdu, Gujarati or another community language, put it on your profile, because families often want a carer who can talk with their relative at home.

Sandwell Council pays direct payments onto a prepaid card, and people can use them to become an employer and take on a personal assistant, so PA work sits alongside agency and care home roles. The council also runs a Shared Lives scheme for adults with learning disabilities or autism, offering long term placements and short breaks in carers' own homes.

Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust now runs the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital in Smethwick, alongside Sandwell Health Campus in West Bromwich and Rowley Regis Hospital. Right next to it, Sandwell College's Learning Campus teaches a Level 3 Technical Occupational Entry in Social Care for people heading into support work.

73% of the inspected care employers in Sandwell are rated Good or Outstanding by the CQC, below the 79% across the West Midlands and below England as a whole (85%).