A FORMER steelworker whose visit to a disabled relative in New Zealand led to an unexpected career change is now in line for a prestigious award.

Gareth Watkins, of Pontypool, will be attending a ceremony for the annual Wales Care Awards on October 21.

Organised by Care Forum Wales to recognise exceptional good practice in the care sector, Mr Watkins has been shortlisted in the category for supported living care practitioner.

After leaving school he became an apprentice in the steel industry and went on to become a supervisor and section manager. He spent a total of 38 years in the industry, much of it in Llanwern, before accepting redundancy in 2007.

Then, that same year, he and his wife Ann were visited a relative in New Zealand who had recently been admitted to a spinal unit after breaking her neck in an accident.

Mr Watkins said: “While we were there we took her for days out and enjoyed it, so, later, when I saw a carer’s job advertised Ann said ‘Why not have a go?’”

Mr Watkins has since been a domiciliary support worker for QCare for the past eight years, based in Pontypool, and is responsible for a number of people with a range of disabilities including cerebral palsy, dementia and Parkinson’s Disease in Torfaen.

The 61-year-old was nominated for the award by the company’s senior registered manager Kym Wright, who said he had an unusual ability to adapt to his service users’ needs and deliver care in different ways.

“Quality is like a stick of rock for Gareth in that it runs all the way through him," she said. "It is always his focus.”

Mr Watkins' wife, a former finance manager, also works in the care sector now, while their grand-daughter, Bethany, also works for QCare.

Asked what he gets out of his new career Mr Watkins said: “It’s pure job satisfaction. I really enjoy it.”

Mario Kreft MBE, the chair of Care Forum Wales, said the Wales Care Awards had gone from strength to strength. She said: “We need to do all we can to raise the profile of the care sector workforce - they deserve to be lauded and applauded."