Some stumbled into care. Others were drawn to it. A few thought they’d leave after a month. But they didn’t. Red Jacket didn’t just fall into care. They’ve redefined what it means to build a local care workforce from the ground up. 🎓 They now recruit over 200 students through Bournemouth University 🎓 They've secured new partnerships with Southampton University, a Russell Group institution Today, their 350-strong workforce is made up primarily of local talent under the age of 30 How? They invested early. They showed up in classrooms, at career fairs, in full team formation. They didn’t wait for ‘qualified staff’ to appear. They trained them. They believed in them. And they built a company where young carers don’t just survive ..... they rise. In this episode of the Homegrown Talent Series, we meet three of those rising stars: Milly, Callie and Jude. We also hear from Red Jacket’s co-founder, Jordan Towles, who shares how empathy not experience became the foundation of their recruitment model. “We never throw bodies at a problem. We don’t do short visits. We do real relationships.” This is what happens when care is led from the front.