A former metal stockist quality assurance manager from Bridgend has scooped a silver award at the social care Oscars.

Wendy Edwards has never looked back since she swapped metal for people and took on the key role of Human Resources (HR) Officer with Bridgend group, Partnerships for Progress PfP, in 2021.

Now she has been recognised as one of the top three professionals in her field in Wales, having lifted the prestigious gong at the Wales Care Awards 2024.

The honours are organised by Care Forum Wales and have become widely known as the Oscars of social care. They are attended by hundreds of professionals from all around Wales.

Ontex Healthcare was the overall sponsor for the presentation evening held at Holland House Hotel, Cardiff. It was compered by radio and TV presenter Jason Mohammad.

Wendy was rewarded in the category for commitment to a support function, sponsored by leading residential home resources supplier Care Home Life.

The result was announced by Care Home Life head of customer experience, Amy Martin and the award was presented to Wendy by BP Khanal, Managing Director of Bird Care Homes.

Mario Kreft, chairman of Care Forum Wales, said the standard of entries was extremely high.

He added : “There are only winners here tonight so it is only fitting that the finalists will receive a gold, silver or bronze Wales Care Award.

“I trust that they will continue to inspire those around them as role models and encourage others to aspire to even greater heights in the months and years to come.

“This awards ceremony is our opportunity to pay tribute and to celebrate the talent and commitment that is improving the quality of life for thousands and thousands of people throughout Wales.

”We take our hats off to them.”

Wendy was shortlisted as a finalist after being championed by her colleagues at Partnerships for People (PfP). Her job includes recruiting and retaining team members, monitoring their wellbeing, helping managers and directors develop positive leadership skills and maintaining morale amongst the team.

PfP Development Director Peter Max nominated Wendy for the Commitment to a Support Function.

He said: “Wendy is a really effective, supportive and caring HR officer who has a natural sense of fairness and balance. She is helping drive forward a culture and approach that enables all staff to provide a supportive, positive environment in which families can flourish.

“She has an open-door policy and always spends time with team members when they need it and is assertive about advocating for team members if she feels we are not being as supportive as we should be.”

Wendy accepted her award to tumultuous applause.

She said: “I love my job. Prior to this I spent more than 30 years as a quality manager with a metal and plastics stockist.

“When I left I knew I wanted to carry on working but after three decades of dealing mainly with products I decided it was time for me to work with people.

“I wanted to do something which I hoped would make a positive difference in our community. From the first day I walked in the door at PfP I loved it, I enjoy working with everyone here, the company’s ethos chimes exactly with my own.”

PfP runs a residential family centre to support parents with their newborn babies.  Its aim is to support every child to have the best start in life and help more families stay together when it is assessed as safe and in the best interests of the child.

Wendy said: “While I don’t deal directly with our families, I feel I’m indirectly contributing to the support they receive at PfP. By ensuring the individuals we recruit align with our mission and values, our workforce morale is high then their positive energy will impact beneficially on the families they are supporting.

“It just makes sense that if the team are happy, the families are more likely to be too.  We believe in helping everyone to make the best of their potential and I really feel that comes through in our culture.”

Away from the office Wendy, of Pontycymer, Bridgend, enjoys spending time with her family including husband Neil. They have two grown up children Zack, 27 and Millie 22, plus the family dog, Poppy who Wendy loves to take long walks on the beach.

The shortlist of finalists in each category was whittled down from hundreds of nominees in the social care sector across Wales.