Care worker

This role is ideal for you if you have the ability to work on your own initiative and prioritise your workload, good listening and communication skills, display the ability to understand and follow policies and procedures as well as good writing skills to fill in care plans.

Care workers can work in a care home, in people’s own homes or in the community. 

You may work with lots of different people including adults with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, substance misuse issues mental health conditions and older people.

Role overview

• Supporting people with social and physical activities as well as basics such as eating and drinking
• Booking and accompanying people at appointments
• Assist with personal care 
• Monitoring individuals’ conditions by taking their temperature, pulse, respiration and weight, and possibly helping with medication.

Skills and experience 

Your induction will include necessary training such as health and safety, first aid and moving and handling. Additional specific training such as autism awareness, communication skills or working with people with dementia may be offered.

Your employer might ask that you have qualifications showing good English and number skills such as GCSE in English and maths. A social care qualification may be beneficial in Health and Social Care, but you can complete these once you’re hired.

It might be useful to have experience working in a similar role or with vulnerable adults. You could gain this experience through a work placement, from your personal life, through volunteering or as part of a traineeship or apprenticeship.

Opportunities

When in your role you could do a vocational qualification or a continuing professional development qualification such as dementia, end of life or autism care.

Your employer might pay for you to do these qualifications, or you could apply for an Advanced Learner Loan to pay for them yourself.

Other similar roles might include a support worker, shared lives carer and personal assistant.

• Support workers - provide advice about housing, learning life skills such as cooking or budgeting and providing emotional support and befriending.
  
  
• Shared lives carers welcome vulnerable people into their own home or stay with individuals in their own home and care for them there. This could be on a long or short term basis – you might offer weekend respite care or provide support during the day or night.
  
  
• Personal assistants tend to employed directly by an individual who decides what they want you to help them with. You could be asked to help them get ready on a morning, go to work or University, do household tasks such as cleaning and cooking, do social activities and attend appointments. 

Find out more about other roles.