I need some advice about a change in careers

I'm really wanting to be an aged carer of some sort.

Ideally i would love to be able to go into elderly people homes and help them with there day-to-day life. Whether it be there cooking/cleaning/shopping/ etc etc

I have no idea where to start looking for info on what training i'd need for this type of work. And how to find the relevant businesses/organisations that employ people that do this type of work.

Any help would be much appreciated im so lost right now, i just really would love to be able to help out older people that have no family or support ;)

Hi zachriska,

My mum used to work for Home Care (in Sydney) and she used to do things like that. Though it also included working with disabled people too. I'm not sure if there is the same organisation in your area if you're not in sydney. But I'm sure there are similar organisations around. My mum never had any qualifications when she started either, she got them all as she went along and also had the option of studying at tafe if she wanted to, though she never did.
Im pretty sure there are courses at tafe which deal with aged care careers, maybe google it and see what you get, or contact your local tafe, or better still drop into your local aged care facility and ask them!! Good Luck :)

Hi Zachriska

I recommend you look in the newspaper or a job website and see whats out there (look for aged care, home care, personal care, etc). The job ads usually specify what kind of qualifications/experience you need. Or look up aged care agencies in your yellow pages, or google it.

DH does this for a job, although like Kellie's mum, he works mostly with disabled people and only a few elderly. He has a nursing background (although he's not an RN), and has also worked as a chef. Depending on what exactly you want to do, you may not need any formal qualifications, but I am not sure about that.

Most importantly you will need your own car, a clean drivers license (DH also has a defensive driving certificate, although I don't think that you would need this for this type of work), and some agencies insist on you having full comprehensive insurance.

If you like, I could PM you the info about the agency that DH works for. We're in Sydney, but its a nation wide agency, so may have a branch close to you (or if not, they should know about agencies in your area). Let me know if you would like me to do that.

Hope this helps.

Good luck. I think this is a wonderful type of thing to do for a career.

I know about 7yrs ago you could do a course for a Personal Carer at TAFE ;) ... Though not sure if they still do :rolleyes: ... Be worth checking it out if they do !!

... Keep in mind it's not a suitable job for those with a bad back.

I did this kind of work for a short time as the lifting of elderly patients & if they possibly fell just about recked my back.

And elderly with dementia can be a nightmare at times.

I'd recommend working in a retirement home and not a nursing home !!

Also they can usually shower themselves, etc in a retirement home.

I use to work for a rehabilation company that worked in conjunction with the TAC, where you helped patients of different ages (usually from 40yrs to elderly like 70 or 80yrs) that had been involved in a bad car accident whether it be in a car themselves or their getting run down on a pavement by a someone elses car. You would help them with their day to day needs. It was not a bad job though the pay was not great.

All the best for the future :)

I'm not sure where you should look, but just wanted to warn you that working with elderly people often puts a huge strain on your back so don't go that way if yours isn't in fantastic shape. All the people I know who work in this industry have had time off due to back injuries involving lifting or falls.

You can earn great money in this field and as the population is growing you will never be out of a job once you are trained. Good luck with it all.

If you are 25+ with no yr12 you can do a course in Aged Care free. I see courses advertised all the time in my local and national papers.

good luck.