Certificate III in Individual Support (Home and Community)

People who are successful in this field:

• Enjoy working in community settings to provide care in the home
• Are supportive and empathetic
• Are collaborative and a team player
• Have a strong client service focus
• Interested in health care
• Have great spoken and written communication skills
• Are good problem solvers

Assessments give you the opportunity to demonstrate what you have learned so far and identify what knowledge or skills need further development. In this course you will undertake:

• Skills assessments - practical demonstrations
• Knowledge assessments - short answer, multiple choice
• Case study assessments - scenario based written tasks
• Workplace project - research task related to client care

This course, the Certificate III, offers you an entry level introduction to aged care and the community services sector.
You will gain experience working with and providing care to clients in their home and community care settings.

The Certificate IV level course builds on the Certificate III and strengthens your existing skills as well as focusing on building your leadership skills so you will be ready to supervise a small team.

Depending on your campus location and local partnerships with TAFE NSW, you may have the opportunity to participate in excursions where you will learn what goes on behind the scenes to care for our ageing community members.

You will gain a range of industry specific skills related to delivering safe and high quality care in a home and community setting, including:

• Provide First Aid responses like CPR in an emergency
• Support relationships with carers and family
• Meet personal care needs - bathing, toileting and dressing
• Monitor oral health and provide advice or referrals
• Work safely with strong manual handling skills
• Work legally and ethically in a home and community care setting

You will practice your skills in a simulated home and community care setting environment at a TAFE NSW campus and in the workplace. You will work with real clients during your work placement to gain valuable experience in this growing industry.

TAFE NSW offers you a range of online and on campus study environments - industry specific computer rooms, simulated workplaces, study areas, presentation areas and general student facilities - to enhance your learning and employability.

You will also learn in both simulated and real-world home and community care environments where you can practice your skills in authentic situations.

Student facilities, amenities and support services include:

• TAFE NSW Disability Support Service
• TAFE NSW Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) support
• TAFE NSW Aboriginal Support; Learner support (ABE)
• TAFE NSW Careers, Counselling and Pathways Service
• Studiosity - online access to a tutor

The demand for personal care workers is growing. Aged Carers and Disability Carers are projected to increase by 69,200 jobs while nursing support and personal care workers are projected to increase by over 11,400 over the five years to 2023.

It is expected that this sector will be launched into rapid change and growth based on the findings and recommendations of the recent Royal Commission into Aged Care.

Career opportunities include:

• Personal care worker
• Support worker
• Aged care worker

With an ageing population, there is high demand for qualified home and community care workers. According to the Australian Government's Job Outlook service, the number of people working as aged care workers is forecast to grow very strongly in the coming years.