Hands on learning best for aged care



“My husband told me I’d be good at this job because I can talk to a teacup,” says Ms Keuning who has just finished a Certificate III in Aged Care through Adelaide-based employment agency and training organisation Support Staff Australasia.

Being able to talk to people is a must in Aged Care but it is only part of the skill set needed. You also need compassion and sensitivity, says Ms Keuning.

“Sometimes it takes time to build up trust with the residents,” she explains Ms Keuning. “You have to work out what they may want to do for themselves, like brushing their own hair. That allows them to feel like they are contributing to their own care.”

Gabriele Bryan is Training and Development Manager of Support Staff. She is upfront about the fact that a role in aged care presents challenges as well as job satisfaction. She says carers need maturity and the right motivation and suggests anyone thinking of joining this profession ask themselves a series of questions.

“Do they want to look after people? Do they have an innate desire to do some good?”

“It’s not the most well paid job. It’s physically challenging work. Carers see a lot of suffering. So they really need to be patient,” Ms Bryan says.

Ms Keuning joined Support Staff as a mature age trainee. She had previous jobs in administration and cleaning but after having children Ms Keuning wanted a job that offered her flexibility, without the stress she had experienced in an office.

Her varied background is fairly typical for a trainee. While aged care does attract school leavers, Support Staff offers opportunities to people from all walks of life include those looking for mid-age career change. In fact the median age of an aged care professional is 44.

The “health care and social assistance sector” is Australia’s second largest employment sector employing 10.6 per cent of the nation’s workforce. The aged care employment sector is currently growing 3 per cent per annum compared to an average industry growth rate of 1 per cent a year.

“We have an ageing population, quite significant skills shortages and a move to community based care. More and more carers will be needed,” says Ms Bryan.

“We have mothers re-joining the workforce from years raising their children. Right now their kids are in school and they’re thinking that they’re ready for a new challenge” she says.

“We also have a few tradespeople and a few people who join us after being unemployed for a while, if they’ve been retrenched or rethinking their career options”

As a mature age student, Ms Keuning found the traineeship challenging at first. “I was learning so much but it all connected after a couple of months.”

For a Certificate III in Aged Care, a typical traineeship lasts 14 to 18 months, depending on how quickly the individual trainee progresses. Trainees have one day study leave per week and a minimum of 24 hours of work per week. Both the host employer and Support Staff assess trainees on site. Accredited Registered Training Organisations provide the formal training.

Ms Keuning found the on-the-job placement incredibly valuable.
 
“Instead of just being told how to wash a resident, for example, where to start and what cream to use, we actually got to put it into practice. We learnt so much from what they would say to us and their reactions to what we did,” she recalls.

Support Staff recruits and inducts trainees before determining whether they are suitable for the job. “We tell them what to expect and try to make it as ‘hands on’ as possible, and only after that do we find employers to host their traineeships,” says Ms Bryan.

Ms Keuning describes the support she received from Support Staff as “fantastic.”

“Anytime I asked questions they were there. They would call in and see me there. They’d ask how I was going, did I like it and check whether I was struggling with anything and offer support,” she says.

Ms Bryan says her students understand that being accountable, is an important aspect of the work. “They get to feel they are contributing” she says. “Students can make a person’s day by having a caring and professional approach.”

About 85 per cent of the student intake offered jobs at the end of their traineeship. Graduates can also continue learning so they can become an Enrolled Nurse or Registered Nurse.

For more information, view the Support Staff Australasia video in which Recruitment Manager Leah Uren talks about what Support Staff offers to candidates and employers.

CareerOne.com.au, May 17, 2010.