Why do some people think working in a care home is easy and something anyone out of work can/should do?

[ApriltoNovember]

My dd is 17 and in college. For the last year she has been trying to find a part time job because frankly she wants to start earning money. She has had little luck so far and endless applications later still hasn't secured herself a job.

I asked on our town's community FB page if anyone else's teen/younger adult dc was experiencing similar issues (and it seems many are). I have had so many replies telling me that she should get a job in a care home because the care industry is crying out for staff.

I know this to be true because a) I am a PA/carer for disabled people myself and b) a carer for my elderly mum who has advanced Alzheimer's disease.

But the comments really annoyed me because it seems so often that caring, for some reason is seen as an easy option and a job that anyone can do, even someone straight out of school with no qualifications or skills. In reality, this could not be further from the truth. Caring is bloody hard work and caring for someone with advanced dementia and double incontinence or severe learning difficulties is even harder and really NOT a job for the faint-hearted. All of my mum's carers have been chosen because they have years of experience and are genuinely caring and kind people and even the youngest one who is 26 has a naturally kind and caring personality and is not at all fazed by what she has to deal with.

Mum went into respite care in a home last year. It was in a local town which has a high unemployment rate. The home was full of young care workers and you could tell were only doing the job because there were very few options and most looked bored out of their brains.

Caring can be an extremely rewarding but often thankless and messy job and to think there are so many people out there believing if a person can't find work they may as well just go get a job in care as a last chance option. Yes, maybe a small percentage may go on to enjoy it but many do drop out. It's such a poor misconception that caring is a basic, unskilled thing which anyone can do or should do just because it is a job sector which often has many available vacancies (and that should tell you something for a start).

IMO, it is a job which should be given more credit (and better paid). At the end of the day many of us will reach old age and with dementia now being the most prolific disease amongst the elderly it's a sad possibility for many of us that we could end up needing to be cared by others and would all these people recommending 16/17 year olds go into care because they need any old job want their arses wiped by them?

What do you mean? Unqualified is not the same as untrained and in some care settings carers will be doing everything from the beginning. In fact in a decent setting without back care training they won't be transferring residents but might be helping to change or toilet them.

When someone asks on Facebook, how is anyone replying going to know they have no desire?

They're just suggestions that can be taken or dismissed.

An unqualified carer will be doing intimate care from day one!

no carer gets out of doing any aspects of the job regardless of if they have a care qualification

There is a say that beggars can’t be choosers. If someone needs a job they are going to do whatever job they can get irrespective of whether they are like it or are suited.

I did care work at a teen (hated it) but it was never intimate care. It was more cleaning rooms and making beds. Helping with meals. Filling water jugs.

Also the only way people gain experience and skills is doing the job. Some teens may be amazing carers (quite often you find this with kids who have been helping care for younger siblings or even their own parents).

oh, I made the comment based on my experience of having two close family members in care homes for some years.
I was sure they are have the necessary training for this task.

But is a 30 year old with zero experience any better?
I worked. In a nursing home when I was 17 with no experience prior
It was hard work ,but I needed a part time job and was also planning on becoming a nurse so it was good experience
Not everyone can do it of course, but tgat goes for any one of any age
Im 52 now so its long time ago
But in those days plenty of the care assistants were of a similar age.

I saw this on another thread recently where people were saying that 18 year olds should do care work rather than sign on.
I mean, I do agree that 18 year olds should work (if possible) rather than sign on, but care should not just be a dumping ground for an assortment of unsuitable people.

I hadn't really realised it was that easy to get in. Would a random 17 year old with no experience be likely to get a care job?

Ideally it should be a well-paid and respected job for people with a good disposition for it.
I definitely hope I don't ever need to spend an extended period in care.

Exactly and it's funny how so many people have that attitude but feel completely different once one of their lo's needs full time care. Then they want to best of the best.

Would a random 17 year old with no experience be likely to get a care job?

I don't understand what you mean by 'random' because what could make them not random?

Either way the answer is yes, and they'd begin by shadowing more experienced carers.

They are roped in to doing personal care jobs, I know many people in the care industry and when staffing levels are low as they often are everyone has to join in regardless of their abilities.

Awful, isn't it? We had the same experience with mum after she was discharged from hospital last year and we had the 6 week discharge care package. Lovely people but showing very little knowledge of care and we had to let then go after 2 weeks as it was hugely detrimental to mum's recovery.

I imagine most of those were not 16/17 year olds straight out of school.

I agree they csn be very hit and miss my mum had carers,going in four time ,s a day in the last few weeks of her life last year
Most were very nice but were very inexperienced,
I think this has always been an issue though
Private companies dont like to pay out more than they' have too for proper training.

Because, as I have stated further up thread, I mentioned in my post that dd would like to work, ideally within the retail and hospitality industry and then I have endless replies suggesting care work.

As I said I did it at 17 but im 52 now so it was a very long time ago
What is the protocol now for hiring carers and what kind of training do they get?

Yes, carers should be paid more. So should LSAs working with children with special needs and HCA in hospitals, but I don’t think that is ever going to happen, sadly.

Those jobs are where the vacancies are 🤷‍♀️

This. Nobody thinks the job itself is easy to do, just that it’s an easy job to get. For the reasons above and the very high turn over of staff, due to it not being an easy job at all.

The average age was 18 to 22.

Due to the demographic of the area, they were mostly Asian lads who were great at everything except cooking.

My sister had to literally stand over a few of them to teach them how to cook an egg sandwich for my dad's lunch. They said it was because they were never allowed to cook at home.

I think there are suitable and unsuitable people doing many different jobs, but care is obviously something that needs to be got right.

However, I don't think we can base people saying 'Oh it's easy' and encouraging people who have no desire to do it, off of a Facebook post.

Where I live you can do a course to be a carer in a few months and I think you are almost guaranteed work if you complete the course . I think a lot of people who do the course aren’t cut out for it and never work as carers . But it’s a good option I think . There are all sorts of things you can go into with it and if you get into an acute hospital there are lots of different roles you can get into and you can further your training. I’ve worked as a carer so I know how difficult it is and I don’t think everyone is able for it. But it’s not a bad suggestion for young people in my opinion. It gives you a great insight insight into life. A lot of nurses start nurse training at 17. What’s the difference?

I think thread demonstrates how little knowledge most people have of the care industry. In an industry which is crying out for staff how are new recruits (regardless of their experience) supposed to stand back and observe when there are such low levels of staff at each shift. They will absolutely be expected to muck in from day one.

Sometimes, yes that happens (although it saddens me to think of kids being saddled with caring for parents or siblings).

Then again, unfortunately you can also end up with carers like the one who was assigned to my elderly mother for a while, barely out of her teens, who didn't bother to read the care instructions in full (missing important tasks as a result), wasn't ensuring personal hygiene tasks were completed, sat messing on her phone when she was supposed to be providing companionship, and as a final flourish, exposed DM and our home to fire hazard while we were on holiday.

To me, rightly or wrongly, she came across like the epitome of someone who'd taken the job because she couldn't get anything else, wasn't suited to the work, and that led to potentially dangerous incidences of neglect. People tend to forget that care work is a responsible job, there are vulnerable people involved and it is not just about wiping arses. (Not accusing you of thinking that btw, pp, I'm speaking generally. I do think too many people view care work as 'how hard can it be to wipe bottoms and make the odd sandwich?', unfortunately.)

I'm not saying chronological age is always going to be an indicator of how good a carer will be at the job, and I'm also not saying older carers are always going to be reliable and do the job well. Obviously it depends on the individual, but personal maturity and a proper work ethic are absolutely key in a carer role. Obviously those characteristics aren't always tied to age, but a lot of younger people are still in the maturing process and some are just not ready for the responsibility imo.

But those young people are still in the minority, most teens are not interested in care work and pushing them into working in care because there are jobs available in that industry does not make it a good thing. Jobs in this sector are probably needed even more acutely since you were a teen and they are often expected to muck in straight away, this was certainly the case at the care home my mum was in last year whilst in respite.

And I certainly don't want my mother to be cared for by someone who has had to work there because 'beggars can't be choosers' - what an attitude!

This was my first job at 16, in fact from 13 I volunteered in a nursing home once a week through a school organised placement. All that was required was a caring nature and desire to spend some time with people who needed extra attention. Like it or not the care industry does employ people without care specific qualifications and it is a good place to start work as an entry level job. And there are a huge number of vacancies and it will always be needed. A large part of the job is about empathy and communication, just spending time with people. You learn everything else on the job. I did care work all through college and uni and I think it was a solid place to start and would recommend it to anyone.

Well, maybe it's just a tad irresponsible for them to be advocating that untrained and sometimes unsuited youngsters take jobs where they are responsible for vulnerable people? Just a thought.

Pay and working conditions for carers are terrible. It is a highly skilled job, literally being responsible for vulnerable people’s health, wellbeing, safety and quality of life. The fact it is classed as a low paid “unskilled” job infuriates me