Why Certificate III In Aged Care Is Important To Get Start A Career In Aged Care?

Are you planning to pursue a career in the aged care industry in Australia? If so, then it’s a fantastic decision that you have taken. The aged care industry is a progressively increasing and growing sector in Australia as the number of people aged 65 or more is rising. According to research, the number of aged persons in Australia reached 16.2% of the total population in the year 2024. We estimate that it will increase more in the coming years. So, you can understand how demanding the sector will become. A certificate III in aged care can be the starting point of your career.

Which areas are covered under cert 3 aged care?

Certificate 3 in aged care is one of the widely studied aged care courses across Australia. Generally, the course covers three areas.

1. Ageing: If you love the company of older people, this area of specialisation is the perfect one for you. You can work in an aged care facility as a part of a unique team providing support to older members who cannot manage their own lives on their own. As you will be working as a part of a team, there will be less work pressure. You can offer three areas of support to older people in a facility that includes high care, low care and dementia, also termed as memory support.
2. Home and community: If you want to give support to older people at their homes and not any private facility centre, you can select this area of specialisation. Here, you will always have to travel to client’s homes, which may number more than one client in a single day. You can have a coordinator who can contact you at certain times of the day, providing essential assistance.
3. Disability: A person with a specific disability is always vulnerable to mental depression and other difficulties. If you want to provide support to such a person, you will have to deal with different aspects like independence, decision making, community participation or personal choice. One of the essential points to note about disability support is that you have to face challenges, but you must remain exceptionally calm and patient to get satisfying results. Various settings include providing support to someone living independently in his/her own home, providing the same to someone in a group home or at an activity centre.

What jobs can you get after completing certificate 3 in aged care?

There are generally three kinds of jobs you can get placed on the line of three areas of specialisation.

1- Aged care support worker:

The general responsibilities of an aged care support worker include providing available home assistance, medical care, emotional and motivational support and companionship for elderly persons who have become pretty alone in this fast-paced world. You will have to assist them in basic daily activities like taking showers or dressing. Will also has to help them by arranging necessary transport to take part in community activities. You can work in different work settings like private residences, retirement homes, hospitals, nursing homes or community care centres. You can work as a part of a team in a community facility centre or as an individual when working in a private home.

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A cert III aged care course will equip you with a variety of skills and techniques required to work in aged care. Besides those technically acquired skills, you need to have a compassionate and empathetic heart to work with elderly persons. You should also have enough patience to tackle situations that are entirely out of the box. Patience is also require to boost the elderly persons’ morale to take their self-esteem to a higher level and become independent. As Australia is witnessing the ageing of a significant percentage of the total population, there will be abundant job opportunities in the years to come. 

2- Nursing assistant:

Do you want to work in clinical care rather than any private residence or community facility centre? Then the job of a nursing assistant can be a suitable option for you. Nursing assistants indeed play crucial roles in clinical care. So, healthcare units depend heavily on them to take care of the patients and administrative support simultaneously. One thing you should always consider while going for a nursing assistant job is that you must be physically powerful because, in some situations, you may need to lift or move a patient.

The responsibilities of a nursing assistant vary, depending on the specific area he/she works. In general, the duties are bathing, dressing and feeding patients, monitoring vital signs shown by the patients, administering medications, monitoring patients’ health condition, and scheduling important appointments with necessary healthcare workers like speech therapists or physiotherapists. You can see that the job demands deep and extensive clinical knowledge. So, it’s better to get formal training.

3- Disability support worker:

As a disability support worker, your fundamental role will be to provide care and support to people having mental, physical and cognitive disabilities. You will require to supervise and provide the necessary support for the people who need special care. Here also, you have to be extremely patient and compassionate. You will face particular challenges while dealing with a person who has lost natural abilities. Still, you must be well aware of all these so that you can easily handle the situations. However, once you overcome the challenges, nothing can be more rewarding to see someone succeed after several failed attempts. You will undoubtedly be mesmerised to find a dementia-affected person recalling a fond memory after a long time.

In the disability support sector, too, you can work in various settings like homes, hospitals, clinics or care centres. You will be glad to hear that this sector had witnessed employment growth since introducing the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Ending note

Perth is a fantastic city in Australia to live and do a job. Old persons are given immense respect here, and so you may look for an aged care worker’s job in Perth. You can search for the best aged care courses in Perth`, where you can get the necessary details.