An agency supporting the care sector is going from strength to strength and planning to take on more staff.

A1Care Temps, based in Pontardawe and set up by law graduate and teacher Alison Hurley recruits and supplies live-in carers to help people across the UK. She has recently taken on an apprentice to cope with demand, and hopes to grow her team to five full-time staff in the near future.

She explained that, as the population ages, more and more people are seeing the advantages of live-in care and demand is increasing rapidly. “This is often the best solution for people who struggle to live on their own, and want to stay in their own home rather than go into an institution.

“Live-in carers provide flexible, bespoke services to people who do not want to leave the familiarity of their surroundings,” said Alison.

Since launching the business she has found strong demand from people wanting a career in the care industry. “We have many candidates applying to join and go on our books,” she said. “It is a flexible job that can be fitted around other commitments, and is a pathway to other careers, especially nursing.”

A1Care Temps carefully vets candidates who apply, doing background and all other necessary checks and provides training as required.

Alison had planned to run the agency part-time alongside other work, but saw there was strong demand for the agency’s services. “It took off more quickly than I had expected and so I went full time, and am very pleased that I did.”

A1Care Temps was supported by a Business Start-up grant administered jointly by Tata Steel subsidiary UKSE and Neath and Port Talbot County Borough Council (NPTCBC).

“It was very helpful and enabled me to purchase a laptop and printer for the business,” said Alison.

Martin Palmer, UKSE Regional Executive, said:

We are delighted to have given a helping hand to A1Care Temps. The Care sector is becoming more and more important these days and it is good that a local business is recruiting workers into this area as demand for the service continues to rise, and looks set to keep on doing so.

Sian Wyndham, New Business Support & Development Mentor at NPTCBC, added:

Working in partnership with UKSE’s Community Support Programme, we were delighted to be able to assist Alison to purchase some office equipment. Having seen how much her business has grown since its launch in 2020, it’s clear to see that Alison is providing a much-needed service by allowing people to receive care whilst remaining in their own home and maintaining their independence. I’m excited to see what the future holds for this business as Alison plans to expand and take on more staff.

If you are a new or existing business based within Neath Port Talbot and are looking to develop, please get in touch as the Council’s Economic Development team is available to offer a whole host of support across a wide range of sectors.