When you decide to get yourself a disability support worker job you will be providing care, support and supervision for people in their homes, residential establishments, hospitals and clinics. Additionally you may also have the opportunity to work with other health professionals to maximize the mental and physical well-being of the individual that you are caring for.
For some this career choice can be very rewarding with a lot of new people trying to get into the field. But like with most jobs, it can be hard to get your foot in the door and start off your working life right. Below we are going to go over the basics of how you can find yourself some disability support worker jobs.
Traits you should have
When starting off looking for a disability support worker job, you need to do some internal reflection and see if you are cut out for this career choice. While you may think that you are and it has been your goal for a long time, you need to be aware of the traits that employers look in people.
They include;
- Being patient, understanding and flexible
- Have a caring and supportive nature
- Accept responsibility
- Excellent communication skills
- Commitment to helping those who have a condition
- Work within a team
- Cope with the physical demands of the role
- Perform domestic duties efficiently.
While some of these traits are a factor of who you are as a person there are also some that can be trained. Working in a team and being efficient with domestic duties are just a couple that you can work on to improve and get the disability support worker job that you are after.
Training and education for a disability support worker job
While it is possible to obtain a disability support worker job without formal qualifications, you will more than likely undergo some informal training while you are on the site. As we mentioned before, this career path like many is competitive and can be really hard to get started in especially if you don’t have any formal qualifications.
It is possible to boost your chances though by already having experience working with people with certain conditions and undergoing extra education. VET qualifications are very common to have when trying to enter this field. You should also consider that the requirements for each facility differs so you should contact them and find out what you need to get in there beforehand. Additionally You should consider a traineeship or at least having a high school education level from year 10.
The role itself
There are many duties that you will be responsible for when you obtain your disability support worker job. Some of them include the following;
- Assist individuals with medication
- Implement care programs
- Provide support with daily living tasks
- Assist in activities that benefit the mental and physical needs of the individual
- Assist with basic living tasks such as washing and eating
- Cook and serve meals
- Clean the premise
- Work with a team of professionals to implement a support program
Specialisations
Once you have your role you can specialise in one of two fields to be an expert in that respective field. They include:
Home care worker
These individuals provide assistance in the home for individuals who are unable to care for themselves. This may be due to age, sickness or a condition that was present from birth.
Attendant care worker
This role concentrates on providing care for people with conditions in the workplace and at home. Duties for this specialisation include bathing, feeding, dressing, grooming and other basic living tasks.