Ola Finch knew from the age of 14 that she wanted to be a social worker. Privately fostered to white families months at a time when her Nigerian parents returned home to study, she understood first-hand the power the profession has to help change lives. “I was being fostered in Norfolk and I think at that time in the 1980s they didn’t really know what to do with this black child,” says Finch. “There was pressure on me to return home, but my social worker advocated for me – she was the first person to listen to me in order to work out the best outcome for me. This experience fuelled my desire to be a social worker – I wanted to be able to do something like this for somebody else.”
Finch, 49, a senior services manager for learning disability services with more than 20 years’ experience in adult social services at Norfolk county council, says it is a perfect career choice if you are interested in community and society. “Using your position to develop a strategy with people who use the service and to make changes can be very empowering,” she says.
