Working in home care gives you flexible hours and you can still pick up the kids from school!

Do you live on the Fleurieu and already caring for children, elderly parents or other family members and friends? You may be surprised at how transferrable your skills are and how you can begin a rewarding career in home care with ease.

The Aged Care Workforce Industry (ACWIC) launched their new Bring Your Thing campaign recently to encourage people with a wide range of compatible skills to consider a career in the home care workplace. The aged care sector will continue to grow over the next decade and if you have skills you can transfer, then you’ll be joining an industry that will provide plenty of rewarding work opportunities in the future.

Many of our Home Care Coordinators have been stay-at-home mums raising their children and have chosen to return to work as a carer. They have found the transition to be an easy one as many of their skills are transferrable.

We interviewed some of our home care coordinators in Victor Harbor about their experiences working and raising kids. They share why they enjoy working in home care, the flexibility it provides them and how they manage the eternal juggling act of being a mum and having a job!

How do you manage your home care work and raising young children?

“With lots and lots of wine, no wait, just kidding!

St Louis are a family owned and family friendly organisation in a small community, we have a lot of support through the community and the kids go to a local school. We have flexible hours and work close to the school and home which allows us to juggle responsibilities easier and this allows me to maintain a good work life balance…. well as much as you can when you have a few kids at primary school!”

What are the advantages for Mums out there who might be considering a career in home care?

“As a care worker, you can provide your available hours to St Louis who will do their best to accommodate your availability and work around it. Also, many of the services provided in the community are already in school hours, for example the social events, transport needs, domestic services, shopping and other things.

Your experience as a mum and the qualities you develop in caring for others such as compassion, care, patience and understanding, are all the skills required to care for an older person. You go from one caring role to another, and you use your daily skills as a Mum in your home care role.

We also do our best to match a client’s location so that they are close to your children’s school to make travel and work-life balance easier for you.”

What do you enjoy about working in home care?

“We enjoy many things about our work in home care:

Being able to spend weekends with our children
The flexibility of the role and the hours we work
It’s rewarding and we go home feeling a sense of purpose and achievement
We like to advocate for older people in the community and get many opportunities to do this
The work gives us a sense of community by just having a lot to do with the locals
We like the stories and advice that older people have to share
We enjoy the social aspects and helping older people enjoy their local community
It’s a different demographic to our normal social group and it brings a whole new perspective on life
We value having colleagues that are mums as well, we are in similar situations and can share the journey and make a positive contribution to our workplace.”

How did your career evolve after many years as a stay-at-home mum?

“Starting as a care worker after being at home with small children many years was easier than we expected because we had the care skills already. There are many other roles you can have in home care - home care coordinator, social coordinator, care worker and more.”

With or without a Cert III, there are opportunities for you in home care