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Thinking about a career in care but not sure what to expect? You may have heard that you need previous experience, that caring is difficult, or that you will be left to figure things out on your own.
At GoodOaks Homecare, we pride ourselves on our PRIDE values of care: Professionalism, respect, integrity, dedication and empathy. We have noticed that many people feel they can’t be a care professional if they don’t have previous experience, or they are worried about certain aspects of the work and that is putting them off trying care as a career.
In this guide, we’ll bust some of the most common myths about a career in care and explain what it’s really like to become a care professional with GoodOaks Homecare.
Care is an incredibly rewarding career, in fact, it’s probably one of the most rewarding, because every day your work and your actions help to change someone’s life for the better.
Is previous care experience essential?
No – not necessarily.
At GoodOaks Homecare we believe that yes, anyone can get the skills and experience to be a care professional, but that actually what’s more important than having experience is having the right attitude. When we hire, we look to find people that are passionate and enthusiastic about helping to change the lives of our clients and someone that shares our PRIDE values.
We can teach you everything you need to get started in a career in care, or help you retrain as a Care Professional and develop your skills as you progress. What we can’t teach, however, is a natural caring nature and a genuine passion for helping others.
 We believe that learning and training is a life-long process and that’s why our team support has lots of additional courses you can do to ensure that you always feel confident and supported.
What does GoodOaks offer care professionals?
We believe that looking after our team is essential to attracting and retaining great care professionals. That’s why we offer a range of benefits and opportunities designed to support you throughout your career in care.
At GoodOaks we offer:
- Paid volunteer days
- Match funding for courses to help you develop your skills and interests.
- The one million step challenge
- Breakdown cover
- Market leading wages, starting from £10.65/hour for care assistants
- 28 days paid holiday pro rata
- Mileage paid £0.35/mile
- Long stay bonuses and paid training
- Employment perks and benefits
- Career progression opportunities
- Friendly management
- The only Carbon Neutral care role in the area (*we plant trees to offset the carbon we produce!)
How much do care professionals get paid?
Pay is an important consideration when you’re choosing a career in care, and we believe you should have clear information before deciding whether a role is right for you.
We can’t speak for every care provider about their rates of pay, but at GoodOaks Homecare we believe that attracting and retaining the best care professionals starts with looking after our team.
That’s why we offer competitive rates of pay, alongside a range of benefits and opportunities for career development. These include a Long Stay Bonus for team members who have been with us for a longer period.
We’re also committed to pay transparency. GoodOaks Homecare is one of the few care providers to publish our pay rates publicly because we believe you should know what you can expect before you apply.
Does working in care involve personal care?
Yes, personal care can be part of the role – but it’s nothing to be embarrassed about.
This is a subject that seems to put a lot of people off care – the personal care side of the job. Possibly because we are all worried about getting things wrong or not doing things the right way or just being embarrassed. The important thing to remember is that our clients are receiving care because they need support. Your role is to help them maintain their dignity, independence and quality of life.
It can involve applying creams and dressings and helping someone get dressed or undressed. This is something that many of us, unless we have cared for a family member, child or partner, will probably not have experienced before, so it’s natural to want to make sure you are doing it right and in a respectful way. If you’ve never worked in care before, it’s completely understandable to feel nervous about this part of the job.
Building trust with your clients
It’s also important to remember that our clients need help with these personal care situations, and they are used to receiving help. You’ll also have the opportunity to shadow experienced care professionals when you start. This gives you the chance to see how routines work, meet your clients and learn from people who already have experience in the role.
We find empathy and respect are hugely appreciated by our clients in these situations – at the end of the day you are helping them to lead their lives to their fullest.
We think it’s important that all our care professionals and clients have things in common and shared interests, that’s why we do an in-depth interview with both our new clients and our care professionals so we know your interests to match you up with clients. That way you will always have something to talk about and bond over.
Will I receive training before working with clients?
At GoodOaks Homecare, we will provide you with all the training that you will need so that you will know exactly what to do across all aspects of the caring role. Feeling confident in your skills and experience is one key way to overcome concerns or embarrassment you may feel.
We use an online system that updates in real time so that you can see at the start of your shift if anything has happened with your clients that you should be aware of – for example a change in medication or if they haven’t been feeling well. You also have support from your team and other care professionals available at your finger tips with our online system and over the phone. Meaning that advice and help is only ever a click or call away.
What is the CQC and why does it matter when working in care?
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care services in England, including homecare providers. It sets standards to help ensure care is safe, effective, compassionate and well-led.
For care professionals, this means working within clear standards and procedures that protect the people they support. You can also check a provider’s CQC information when choosing where to work.
Will I be left on my own?
No, not at all. Following your initial training, you’ll shadow an experienced care professional.
This allows you to:
- Learn your clients’ routines
- Understand how their care is delivered
- Ask questions
- Build your confidence
- Meet clients before supporting them independently
- Learn from experienced members of the team
You will never feel on your own at GoodOaks, with a team always on call to assist or ask any questions.
We believe in taking on and developing our talented care professionals. We want you to be able to grow your skills and to continue to learn, we provide ongoing training to ensure you are always up to date with the latest information. We also offer money towards training courses to help you develop your interests.
There will be opportunities to work up through the care levels should you wish, and you may even want to become a GoodOaks Care Home Franchisee yourself one day – we have had care professionals join us who have gone on to open their own GoodOaks business, so the sky is the limit.
Start your career in care with GoodOaks
If you’re considering a career in care, we’d love to hear from you.
If you’d like to find out more about becoming joining our team, or even a franchise your own GoodOaks branch, then we’d love to hear from you. We really do believe that our talented care professionals make a huge difference to the lives of our clients and so we believe that excellent pay rates and a marketing-leading employment package are essential to find the very best care professionals.
Click here: www.goodoakshomecare.co.uk.
