5 Common Myths About Working In The Care Industry

Unlike many professions, experience isn’t required for a career in the care industry. A full suite of training is provided to new starters to ensure jobs can be performed correctly, which is a great learning opportunity and gives confidence to those without experience.

Also, what’s more important than experience is that you have the right qualities to become a good care worker. At Wessex Care, we look for people with good listening skills, confidence in meeting new people, excellent communication, a willingness to learn, and a caring nature.

Providing personal care, like help with bathing, dressing, and using the toilet, is a huge part of a care worker’s role. But it’s about more than just that. Every person we support has an individual care plan tailored to them and their needs.

This means you could be helping prepare meals, performing household duties (like minor cleaning) and offering companionship to people who are lonely. Within the Wessex Care family, we create special bonds with our clients and find huge job satisfaction in helping them live their daily lives with dignity and compassion.

Despite the belief that you can’t progress in care work, building a career in social care is possible, just like any other profession. Being a care assistant opens doors to supervisory roles and other qualified nursing careers.

In the care industry, care assistants can progress to become a care supervisor (who creates care plans and supervises staff), a care coordinator (who are primarily office-based and conduct compliance work) or a registered manager (who is responsible for care centres and development opportunities).

Many care centres and live-in care services provide 24-hour care, but that doesn’t mean carers have to work unsociable hours. All care positions are available with full-time and part-time hours that can be hugely flexible.

With varying hours available, including weekday and daytime hours, care work can fit into family obligations, school hours and other part-time work.

Another common myth about working in care is that you can only work on zero-hour contracts, giving you less control over the hours you work, your annual leave entitlements, and your monthly income, but this isn’t true.

At Wessex Care, we know job security is important, which is why we only offer permanent contract positions for our full-time and part-time roles.