There are few public sectors that have come under as much fire as social services in the last few years. Many think of the tragic story of Baby P and surmise it may not be a thriving industry which could be an attractive place to work.

Yet that is precisely what a new survey has found. Research conducted by ICM Omnibus for Department of Health discovered that a third of people questioned would consider switching to a career in social care, with those most interested hailing from younger age groups.

It seems that despite the bad press, people are still keen to join a sector that employs some 1.5 million people in England and provides care to children and families, older and disabled people, young people and those with learning disabilities.

It's the reward of working with people, providing care, and making a difference in someone's life that makes this career so attractive, says David Taylor, 23, a care assistant who recently left a career in fashion to find more meaning in his life.

“Every day is different, and I work with an amazing and inspiring team of people,” he explains.

“While you do get the odd hard day on the job, every time I go in to work and see the smiles on the faces of the people I help, and knowing they're waiting for me to come in, makes the job worthwhile.”

Demand for social care is predicted to steadily increase in the next 20 years. As people continue to live longer, the number of people aged over 65 in England will increase by just under half, while the number of those over 85 will double.

To meet this demand, as many as 200,000 jobs in the sector are expected to be advertised in the coming year, and a new TV advertising campaign and series of face-to-face events across the country will aim to show just how rewarding a career in social care can be.

Phil Hope MP, the Care Services Minister, explains: “With the number of people who may need help with day-to-day tasks set to grow, this is a sector that will offer an increasing number of opportunities for those looking for jobs or a new career.”

People from all walks of life are encouraged to apply.

Most of us tend to think of social carers as middle-aged people taking care of the aged, but carers tend to vary as much as the people they are caring for, says Penny Bussey, a regional care manager who left her job as a violin teacher to work with people with dementia, when she was 43 years-old.

“There is still this assumption that, as a social care worker, you do nothing but unpleasant things, but that is not the way to look at it,” she explains.

“I help people carry on living and to do it in a way that makes them feel that life is worth living, that needing help is not a shame. If someone needs help to function as a human being, then that's what you do, but it's not all you do — what you do everyday is about a person, not a task."

A huge draw of the job, she says, is the variety of people she works with and the ability to understand more about lives she would otherwise know nothing about.

“In this line of work, it's definitely the people who make your work worthwhile. I've cared for people with the most interesting life experiences — one was a member of the French resistance in the Second World War, another worked at Bletchley Park as a decoder, others have been train drivers and refugees — you name it, they come from all walks of life.”

Of course, providing care to someone every day is not always easy or rewarding. While carers might choose what group of people they would like to work with — older people or those with mental health difficulties, for example — they can't choose the individual.

And that in itself can pose a challenge.

Personality clashes can often flare into arguments, requiring the social carer to walk a thin line of care and counselling, says Ian Anderson, a former banker who has been working in social care for the past 32 years.

“You do occasionally work with people who are very difficult to work with and who, on a personal level, you'd never want to be friends with," he said.

“But you have to put that to one side and figure out how best to be useful to them. It's about helping them make a difference to their lives rather than making the difference for them. Your job is to help them realise what it is they want or need to do and what they need to do to achieve that.”

Admittedly, those who work in the social services can sometimes fail in their mission to help.

In the case of Baby P, social workers repeatedly neglected to place the child in a situation that would take him away from his abusive mother and stepfather — a failure which resulted in his death, aged one.

But it should be pointed out that these decisions were made by social workers, rather than social carers.

Anyone looking to get involved with the government's drive to recruit care workers, would not be making the kinds of decisions which affected the life of Baby P.

The role of social carers is primarily to look after people. But one thing the Baby P scandal does still show, says Ian Anderson, is the important role that the social sector does play in dealing with some very difficult and dangerous situations.

Having worked with vulnerable children for two decades, before moving into care management, he says that everyday he makes judgments as to how to protect lives and ensure that people achieve the best quality of life — and that can be tough.

Penny Bussey said: “When I first started out, I was horrified by what I saw in the residential homes where I was working — the lack of understanding, the attitudes to people with dementia — and decided then and there that a commitment to good care was essential.

“I vowed to myself to train staff to handle it better — and feel that the level of care has really improved."