Provider reskills older workers for jobs in home care

A South Australian home care provider is reskilling older workers for a later-life career in aged care.

The first 13 trainees were engaged by My Care Solution this week after graduating from its six-week pre-traineeship program.

They’ll now undertake 10 months of study and on-the-job learning to complete their Certificate III in individual support, before signing on with the provider.

My Care Solution’s Mature Age Traineeship in Aged Care, provided in partnership with Enable College, is being funded by a $132,000 grant from the state government’s Skilling South Australia initiative and is the first mature aged traineeship to be done in aged care.

A spokeswoman told Community Care Review there were 130 applicants for the traineeships but the funding only covered 13 positions, and applicants were screened via personality tests and interviews.

However the program has been so successful that it will be ongoing and the government has already committed funding for more traineeships in metropolitan and regional Adelaide next year.

Future graduates will also be able to take up empoyment opportunities in the residential sector.

Executive director Mark McBriarty says the traineeships enable participants to do a Preparing to Care course to make sure they are suited to the demands of the job.

“This front-end to our traineeship allows participants to complete a few modules of the Certificate III in Individual Support together with modules of our in-house training program to get a feel for the industry,” he says.

“Every graduating participant has shown the compassion, dedication and skill needed to make a difference in this industry and we are pleased to welcome them to the My Care Solution team as trainees.”

One of the graduates is Emma Davis, who completed the traineeship after a career in customer service.

She said the course offered her an opportunity to reskill for a career where her caring and compassionate qualities could be shared.

“I’m eager to reskill as I would like to be in a nurturing environment,” she said.

The graduating group of one man and 12 women also contains two hairdressers, a former newspaper employee and stay-at-home parents who have cared for elderly parents.

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