Article from April edition of INPractice
26 May 2020
Since starting her career in the aged care sector as a home support worker three years ago, Jodie Grant has always wanted to improve her skills to help the people in her care even more.
“I had a few different roles before moving into the aged care industry, and most were positions that helped others in some way,” Jodie says.
“Recently, I was working as a qualified personal trainer – but it wasn’t about building ‘body-beautiful’ people. I was more interested in assisting others to be more functional in their movements, so they could get the most out of their lives.”
When Jodie, aged 43, transitioned from the fitness industry into her current role at a major aged care provider, she immediately felt at home.
“I sort of fell into aged care. I had been doing some cleaning work at an aged care site and was fortunate to see the industry up-close, which inspired me to make the switch,” Jodie says.
“I absolutely love my work because it’s so varied. I start early in the morning and assist clients in their homes with showering, dressing, administering medications and other domestic duties.
“I also help them with transporting, cooking, shopping and other daily tasks, even just a chat really helps a lot of people.
“It’s such a rewarding career, and I think it’s very much a growing industry. With our ageing population and more people choosing not to have children, they’re going to need more help and support in the future.”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics says that sometime in the next decade, the number of couples without children will overtake the number of couples with – a growing proportion of Australian women and their partners are choosing not to have kids.
With a desire to help more, Jodie kept an eye out for opportunities to study a Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing), a qualification that’s required to provide support and care to veterans.
“I’m very passionate about learning and improving myself, so I always had in the back of my mind that studying would set me up for a more sustainable career,’’ she says.
Jodie reached out to ANMF (SA Branch)’s Australian Nursing and Midwifery Education Centre (ANMEC) and applied through her employer to study the course part-time over 12 months as part of the State Government’s Skilling SA traineeship program.
“I’m studying my Certificate III one day per week which includes classroom attendance, online learning and workplace practice,’’ she says.
ANMEC was one of the earliest training providers to take advantage of the opportunity afforded to it by the new funding program to support Home Support Workers like Jodie to undertake further vocational education and training.
It’s an opportunity for ANMEC to provide education opportunities to improve the standard of care in the aged care sector.
“When I was offered the chance to start my Certificate III with ANMEC, alongside my home support work, I didn’t think twice,” Jodie says.
“Already the weekly training sessions have been invaluable in building my confidence and knowledge base.
“I can’t speak highly enough of the blend of theoretical, practical and on-the-job training at ANMEC.
“The learning environment creates real-life scenarios and this really assists with my learning. On top of that, the educators have been extremely engaging and nothing is too much trouble – they make studying fun and have communicated with us respectfully, as adults who already have some hands-on experience with what we’re learning.”
ANMEC has a strong track record of building partnerships to advance best practice care.
Recognised as the 2019 SA Training Provider of the Year, ANMEC works closely with a wide range of industry partners in diverse settings across the health care sector, making it uniquely placed to produce high-quality graduates with the knowledge and skills the industry needs.
To find out more about ANMEC’s courses, such as the Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing and/or Disability), visit:
www.anmfsa.org.au/learning or phone 8334 1900.
Aged Care Traineeships
With over 15 years’ experience delivering qualifications at a Certificate III level, and Diploma and Advanced Diploma level courses also on offer, ANMEC works closely with a wide range of industry partners in diverse
settings across the health care sector to produce jobready graduates
Click here to read the April 2020 edition of INPractice