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Working Abroad Job Vacancies Job Hunting Guide Voluntary Work Working Part-time and Temping Useful Job Hunting Resources Working in Somerset Wages and Employment Rights Elderly Carers in Somerset CLCI: KEB CLCR: V Care assistants do much of the day-to-day work of looking after elderly people. They mainly work in residential homes. The job involves helping residents maintain their independence and general quality of life. Care is given 24 hours a day. This means many care assistants do shift work. To work some shifts you normally need to be aged 18 years or over. It can be hard work and sometimes upsetting. You need to be cut out for the job to do it well. To find out more look under the above CLCI/CRCI headings in your careers or Connexions library. THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ELDERLY CARERS IN SOMERSET A relatively high proportion of Somerset residents are elderly and retired. This means there are plenty of openings in this type of care work. There are well over 300 care homes in Somerset. This means there are care homes through out the county. They vary in size from being small, with just a dozen or so residents, to being much bigger. Some are small businesses with just one home. Others are part of large organisations operating in Somerset and elsewhere. Some are run by Somerset County Council. Others are operated by private companies or by charities and voluntary organisations. HOW DO I GET STARTED?   Get work experience when at school to see if it’s the career for you   Go to college/sixth form full-time to do a health and social care course   Start as a trainee – or apprentice – and go to college as part of your job USEFUL QUALIFICATIONS   GCSEs in English and subjects like food or childcare can be a useful start   BTEC and Vocational A Level qualifications in health and social care can be good for some jobs   NVQs in care at levels 1-3   First aid, food hygiene and health and safety certificates can also help your career development More about qualifications, courses and training can be found in Moving On (published by Connexions Somerset) DO YOU KNOW? Organising activities for residents is an important task. It helps to be friendly and enter into the spirit of things. WHAT IS THE PAY LIKE? Around £80 per week (maybe more) if starting as a new employed trainee or apprentice. It’s possible to earn £100-130 as a 16 or 17 year old; £145 and upwards as an 18 year old. The pay may not be high compared to other jobs. FINDING A JOB   Connexions centres   Job centres   Through applying for work apprenticeships   School and college careers notice boards   Speculative letters/visits/emails   Newspaper and industry publications adverts   Adverts displayed at premises and on industry/company websites   Job offer after work experience   Word of mouth   A Guide to Job Hunting gives tips on CVs, interviews and job letters. To view click here OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER ABOUT THIS WORK   People tend to live longer nowadays so there is more care work   You need to be extra careful with frailer and older residents   Opportunities exist to do more responsible jobs and eventually get promoted   You must be fit with lots of energy, strength and stamina   It helps to be friendly and a good listener   Hours of work can be awkward. You need to be prepared to work at all times of the day   Having previous experience will help you get jobs   If you are doing well at school you might be interested in going to college and university to become a social worker WHO DOES THE WORK? Ed (21) left school after GCSEs and did an apprenticeship as a care assistant in a residential home in Shepton Mallet. He is now a care officer assessing resident’s needs and devising care programmes (including bathing, toileting, feeding and changing beds). So far Ed has gained NVQ and BTEC social care qualifications and is about to start an Open University degree Christine (19) went to college for two years to build up health and social qualifications. As part of her course she did work experience in a nursing home in Chard. This went well and Christine is now working there permanently as a care assistant. Christine hopes to do some extra NVQs to help her become a supervisor. More Info: A-Z careers Careers information dates rapidly. Every effort has been made to ensure information is accurate but please check details before making firm decisions. Make text larger Make text smaller Text Only Display Privacy Policy/Terms of Use