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Original poster

17 year old apprentice in care home??

15 replies

tessiegirl · 29/04/2020 10:23

I'm after some advice.
My 17 year old step sister was offered an apprenticeship in a care home before all this kicked off. She does social care at college and has been doing a placement at this care home so they knew she was a hard worker.
Anyway, obviously they have been closed to visitors so they arranged they would contact her when they could.
Yesterday she received a call and they would like her to begin her apprenticeship this Thursday.
Obviously we are concerned she will be in a high risk area and bring something home or take something in with her!
At the moment the care home haven't had any cases of coronavirus but surely this is just a matter of time??
The care home reassured her they take the temperature of everyone upon arrival and are using ppe.
They said they understand her concerns but they need someone so I guess there is the chance they will have to find someone else and she could then miss out on this opportunity. But is now really the right time??
What do you all think? Should she start or not?

OP posts:
TDL2016 · 29/04/2020 10:33

Of course she should. It’s an apprenticeship. If she says no, she’ll have to find another one and that will set her qualification back. Coronavirus is going to be around for a long time and the world will likely open up before it’s gone.

MereDintofPandiculation · 29/04/2020 11:03

She's in a lot better position than, say, a 47 year old apprentice.

Bigfishylittlefishy · 29/04/2020 11:21

All of her placements will currently hold a risk.
It’s the nature of her course. Short of stopping her course there wouldn’t be much you could do, although I understand the concern. I am due to start my nursing degree this September and have thought similar. Is now the right time?

CakeAndGin · 29/04/2020 11:29

Consider it a baptism of fire for her. If she can cope at the minute, she can cope no matter what the industry will throw at her. It’ll be fantastic for her CV to say she did her apprenticeship during this time. If, after this, she decides social care is not for her (which would be fine under normal conditions) then she is young enough to find another avenue of work and change her studies.

Obviously there are concerns about her safety and bringing something in to the house. However, at 17 the jobs she would be doing would carry risk anyway - retail worker being the main one as she’s not going to get a job in hospitality or leisure at the moment. The care home have assured her that they are taking more precautionary steps and if she finds they aren’t then I think she would be justified to leave the home.

Mrsjayy · 29/04/2020 11:35

I think she should start if care is going to be her job then she should get stuck in,.some of the carers who are at my neighbours look about 18/19 so it is possible for older teens to work in care. (I did at that age but with children)

Mrsjayy · 29/04/2020 11:36

It doesn't have to be that every carehome will be struck down with covid.

Baaaahhhhh · 29/04/2020 11:40

I think she should go for it too. Bear in mind, we only hear about the bad Care Home stories. The one my mum and her husband are in, has no Covid, no-one has caught it, or brought it in, and they have had full PPE from the start. They locked down two weeks early and haven't accepted new residents. Not all care homes are in crises.

jessycake · 29/04/2020 11:43

This virus will be about for the foreseeable future , so what does she think of the home ? is it well run and somewhere she would like to work. All workplaces will continue to have some risks and jobs will be scarce with so many businesses struggling .

Original poster
tessiegirl · 29/04/2020 21:11

Thanks everyone. Yes she absolutely lived the work and the home before this and she's desperate to go back and help.
What ppe would you expect they should have in place?

OP posts:
OntheWaves40 · 29/04/2020 21:18

I work in care and we have no PEE due to the nature of what I do. No one has got ill as yet.

If she’s serious about a career in care then why would she not want to? If she’s having doubts then perhaps care isn’t the choice for her as it’s a marmite job, you are either passionate about making other lives better or your not.

Original poster
tessiegirl · 30/04/2020 00:30

I haven't said she is having doubts. She is raring to get there!
My mum and I are the ones who are concerned whether she should do it.

OP posts:
MissMarks · 30/04/2020 00:33

If she doesn’t have underlying health conditions I would say go for it.

LilyPond2 · 30/04/2020 00:48

If your step sister has no health conditions then at her age she is at low risk of having a bad case of Covid. But the nature of the job means the risk of catching it must be quite high, and she will then almost certainly pass it on to everyone she lives with. Is anyone living in the same household as your step sister high risk?

Original poster
tessiegirl · 02/05/2020 18:36

Thanks everyone. She has decided to go for it. They have told her that if they do get a case then she would be sent home...

OP posts:
Mrsjayy · 03/05/2020 12:49

Good for her I hope it goes alright for her.

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