The Australian Bureau of Statistics has predicted that at least 1 in every 5 people in Australia will be aged 65 or older in just a few decades. Because of this, the aged care industry is thriving. The increased demand for individual care workers has skyrocketed!
Queensford College has worked with a range of industry experts to offer a Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing) in a flexible and supportive approach to help prepare the Australian aged care workforce to meet this massive demand.
But in what roles exactly?
Students looking to enrol in a Certificate III in Individual Support in Aged Care, Disability or Home and Community Care can expect to move into a diverse number of roles including:
Personal Care Giver
A personal care giver is someone who supports clients by improving their quality of life. Carers can work in a care service facility, a community centre or even in the clients own home. Offering constant personal, physical and emotional support and round-the-clock care, personal care givers provide assistance with:
Queensford College student Micco Manuzon, aged 26, studied a Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing) in 2016 and began his career as a qualified aged care worker shortly after graduating.
Choosing to study a qualification in aged care because he found it the most interesting field in the health care industry, Micco said he enjoyed working with older people and learning new things about himself.
“I learnt that I could be as patient as possible when it came to taking care of the elderly… you have to be because clients have different moods which can be very challenging to handle due to their advancing age,” he says.
Micco says he feels good knowing his dream job is a career in helping people. Like most aged care workers, Micco gets to experience the personal satisfaction of knowing he’s doing a job that genuinely makes a difference in someone’s life.
“The most rewarding thing about working in aged care is being recognised by the clients you handle. They appreciate all the effort you make to provide them the best quality of care,” he says.
“The salary isn’t all that matters to me, at the end of the day it is still a job… however, no amount of money can give you the satisfaction of knowing you are changing someone’s life.
“Money can’t replace how thankful and appreciative clients are of the things you do for them… even the simple things like talking or conversing with them,” he says.
Fast Facts:
Skills: A positive attitude, good communication skills, ability to be patient and exercise compassion. Must be understanding and able to promote independence when possible to respect the integrity of client.
Work setting: Community care centres, residential aged care homes, personal homes.
Work Hours: 10 – 40 hours per week
Average Salary: $17,323 – $39, 791
Respite Care Worker
A respite care worker is someone who provides short-term, temporary care for clients. Respite care is provided as a break for full-time, unpaid family members who act as primary caregivers. This is to support and maintain the primary caregiver’s physical, mental and emotional health. It is time off for them to re-charge. e.g.: time to take a holiday, visit the doctor, and see a friend.
Respite care can vary from 1 hour to 1 month and can take place in the clients home, residential facility or respite care centre.
Margaret Pedler, a volunteer respite care worker from Southwark council’s Family Link Programme told the The Guardian she had been a respite support worker for two years.
“We [Margaret and her husband] spend one day a month looking after a little girl with complex physical needs,” she said.
“I wanted to find a way to put my spare time to good use and work with children, but couldn’t sign up to the full-time commitment of fostering. Instead I saw an advert for Family Link, which trains local volunteers to help a family stay together by offering respite care.
“Looking after a disabled child is a full time, 24-hour-a-day role and can only be sustainable if parents can get respite, while knowing someone is there to allow them some time for themselves or their other children.”
Fast Facts:
Skills: Flexible, positive, well-organised. Able to provide unconditional support and understanding for client and surrounding family and loved ones.
Work setting: Community care centres, personal homes, health care centres, disability care centres
Work Hours: 10 – 40 hours per week
Average Salary: $39,600 – $46, 991
Food Services Worker
A food services worker is responsible for preparing and serving meals for clients in hospitals, residential aged care facilities or respite care centres. They prepare delicious meals based on patient’s specific dietary requirements and tend to personal needs e.g.: place food serving in blender to make food soft or liquid based for clients who cannot eat solids. Their priority is to ensure every patient or client receives a safe and well balanced diet.
Stacy, a food services worker for Mayo Clinic says she loves her job because she gets to meet a variety of people including patients, nurses and doctors.
“I like being able to serve patients, because I feel like I am making their day better. It is nice to meet new people and give them their food with a smile and try to cheer them up,” she says.
“I like the people I work with; our team truly gets along very well. We usually handle about 650-800 trays per day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, which requires a coordinated team effort.
Stacy also said a day in the life of a food service worker can get quite busy, and requires the effort of a whole team.
“My typical day consists of going through inventory, delivering food trays to the patients, picking up trays from the floors, working with dieticians and regular cleaning in the kitchen,” she says.
“You have to be friendly in this line of work, and you have to be able to catch on quickly and learn where the floors are. You have to be able to remember the small details, like where you have been and haven’t been. Sometimes you get double trays or you get the wrong food orders for patients, and you are responsible for correcting those.”
Fast Facts:
Skills: Must be able to work cooperatively and in a team, well organised, good communication skills. Can work to schedules or deadlines.
Work setting: Hospitals, Community care centres, residential aged care homes, long-term care facilities, community centres, health care centres.
Work Hours:10 – 30 hours per week
Average Salary: $18, 782 – $36, 370
Salary figures sourced from www.payscale.com.au. Information is specific to the general industry.
Join Australia’s fastest growing industry today! Start your journey to become a qualified aged care worker by speaking to a Course Advisor, call us on 1300 236 364 or email us at info@queensford.edu.au
