International Women's Day

Our very own Nina MacLean celebrates her 10 year anniversary with Bluebird Care Edinburgh & Glasgow South so it seemed only right to celebrate her achievements on International Women's Day.

What did you dream of doing when you were a little girl? 

An Olympic Swimmer and an Air Hostess so I could travel.

Do you consider yourself to be a powerful woman? 

Yes. I am powerful because as a human being I have the ability to make a change. It doesn’t matter how small that might be - it could be helping to clean the beach, educating my child about the impact of plastic or teaching her to use alternatives, supporting a charity or it could be a bigger change at work such as how we support staff with their staff wellbeing. 

Which powerful woman do you admire the most? 

Pink because not only is she a global superstar but speaks her mind, she fights for what she believes in, she supports others and uplifts women. She is non-judgemental, she is an ambassador of UNICEF, she is a working mother and most importantly she is true to herself. What is there not to love?

What are you most proud of doing? 

Raising a strong and kind daughter who knows she can achieve whatever she wants.

What barriers have you faced in your career? 

Told I was too young to be a trainer in my early 20’s but achieved it and then got told I was too young to be a manager.  This didn’t stop me though and I was managing a large team at the age of 26. 

On International Women’s Day, what is the most important message you want to send out to young women thinking about their careers? 

Do what makes you happy and accept that you can have more than one career in your lifetime.  You are never too old to learn something new.  I left a career in England, moved to Scotland and started again in recruitment.  Within 6 months I was a branch manager and then I moved to Bluebird Care and became a coordinator, something I had never done.  A few years later I retrained and moved into the HR role and who knows what the future holds.  Seize whatever opportunities come your way.

How important is it for women to lift each other up and what does that mean for you? 

Very – for me uplifting is about being supportive to other women, not judging but encouraging them to be the best version of themselves.

What advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in HR? 

Look at achieving your qualifications to help give you a base level of knowledge.  Perhaps start as a HR Admin support and work your way up.  There are so many aspects to HR; Learning and Development; Recruitment and Retention; Employee Wellbeing to name a few.  Get to understand these and find the area that motivates you.  Then, strive to achieve your dream.   

What did you do prior to Bluebird Care? 

Initially I trained as a NVQ assessor and progressed to a trainer and then manager of a large project.  During this time I supported and trained young mums to be (16 – 18), youngsters that hadn’t done well at school and the long term unemployed. 

Why did you decide to join Bluebird Care? 

I met Jane Perry when I worked in a recruitment agency after moving to Scotland and that was when I decided I wanted to work for Bluebird Care.  I loved what her and John stood for and still do.

Why did you choose to work in HR? 

My training and recruitment background gave me good grounding for HR and I wanted to change the impression people have, even if only in one business.  I wanted employees to know that HR are not all about policy and disciplinary but about looking after the employees and where they can, provide support.

What’s the best thing about your job? 

Watching my team develop in the roles they are in and seeing carers flourish.

What’s the worst thing about your job? 

Honestly, I can’t think of anything.  It can be hard when dealing with something like a complex disciplinary to switch off but nothing on a daily basis.

If you could give somebody joining Bluebird Care any advice what would you give them? 

You can achieve anything if you put your mind to it.  Bluebird Care has opportunities available to anyone joining.  They are great at promoting internally and spotting potential.