Any Care Assistants here?

[DoloresMontenegro]

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone here has experience of working as a Care Assistant and would be willing to share how you find/ found it?

Maybe. I will look into it. The only thing is, I’m in college full time, have small kids and a lot on at home so I don’t have a lot of time or energy for volunteering. I asked the course tutor if volunteering would help to get work and he said Not really, I’d save my energy for paid work to be honest 🤷‍♀️

I am, yes. I’ve had manual handling training as well.
I know. They’re kind of shifty about it as well, like when I’ve asked about it, they avoid answering directly.

Yeah I get that, it's tough keeping everything going! Then I'd maybe speak to an agency and see if they'd take you on with the experience you've got, the agency I work through asked me what I wanted to work, and I said one or two shifts a month around my main job, I send my availability and they offer me shifts based on that, there's always more going that I can accept if I can/want to.

It just has to be providing care/ assistance to vulnerable adults in some form.
The problem with asking for work experience with a charity or somewhere that takes volunteers is I have to do it in a block - sixty hours over two weeks. They’re used to taking volunteers for a few hours here and there, not full time hours for two weeks. Some of them are not even open enough hours to make up sixty hours.

I got my job without any care experience tbh apart from being a parent. I started at 54 so age wasn’t a barrier for me.

for my type of work I’ve found being a driver really helps as I can drive the clients cars as well as the house cars. Drivers are in short supply tbh.

You could sign up to an agency and get shifts around college which should fulfill what you need to do. Our agency staff work a mixture of elderly and support work so you could get a variety and see what suits you 😊 good luck

If you are second guessing it now it’s not for you and I say that was someone who recruits for the sector.

Why do you say that? Are most people certain they want to do it before they’ve started?

I went into it as a stop gap to get out of retail and realised I really enjoyed it. Took a few different places to find the right fit for me though

@DoloresMontenegro because it’s a vocation not a stop gap or a job you do when you can’t do anything else. It’s got a huge sigma attached to it because off that. Retention stats are shocking in social care which has a knock on effect on the care the service users.

Why do you think retention stats are so bad?

but it is a stop gap. I’ve used it for that purpose also. Is it right? No, does society give a shit ? Also no. Pay carers what they’re worth, implement proper career training pathways and things would change.

Doubt that will happen anytime soon.

OP - it was the worst job I ever had. Physically, emotionally demanding. Terrible conditions.

Thanks for your honesty.

I think it’s really unrealistic to expect people to be so eager to do this kind of work that they will just put up with anything in order to do it for such low pay.

I am going to be looking for work next year. This was one option. Part of the point of training first through a college was to get an idea of what it might entail without committing to signing up for a job and training through the company. So I am mindful of not just going in headlong then dropping out or burning out. That’s exactly what I’m trying to avoid.

@BeautifulLittlePumpkin Society might not but the service users who need support do. I’m so glad you are no longer in the sector. Hopefully @DoloresMontenegro you give up on your course because with that attitude you will absolutely hate it.

Ok. Good luck with recruiting people to do care work.

The retention is shocking because of the poor working conditions, poor pay, and illegal practises such as refusing to count driving time as working time.

It’s an appalling sector to work in