Being a carer can be immensely rewarding but requires dedication and hard work. You don’t need a formal qualification for many social care jobs. However, a working knowledge of the social welfare system is a must. You can learn on the job, and the agency you join will also give you basic training for 3 to 5 days, with regular ongoing training being offered by most.

What Is A Care Certificate?

The Care Certificate is a set of 15 standards health, and social care workers must abide by during their work. Training for this certificate will help you acquire the introductory skills and knowledge, and your employers will feel confident in hiring you.

The 15 standards of the Care Certificate are:

1. Understanding Your Role
2. Your Personal Development
3. Duty Of Care
4. Equality And Diversity
5. Work In A Person-Centred Way
6. Communication
7. Privacy And Dignity
8. Fluids and Nutrition
9. Awareness Of Mental Health, Dementia, And Learning Disability
10. Safeguarding Adults
11. Safeguarding Children
12. Basic Life Support
13. Health And Safety
14. Handing Information
15. Infection Prevention And Control

Basic Training List

Although you don’t need a specific qualification or skill to work as a carer, you will need some training to provide personal and medical assistance to the service users. The following skills will help you start your care career on solid footing. 

• Basic Life Support: First aid for CPR, choking, bleeding, and shock.
• Dignity In Care: Awareness of dignity and how to provide it for service users.
• Effective Communication: Improve communication skills.
• Equality And Diversity: Identify and avoid discrimination and improve knowledge of equality and diversity.
• Fire Safety: Basic understanding of fire safety.
• Effective Record-Keeping And GDPR: Awareness of General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the importance of data protection and maintenance of accurate and up-to-date records.
• Infection Control: Awareness of the risk of spreading disease and infection and how to minimise it.
• Learning Disability Awareness: Improve the understanding and knowledge of learning disabilities.
• Mental Capacity Awareness: Knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act and DoLS is mandatory for those caring for vulnerable adults.
• Moving And Handling People: Knowledge of moving and handling techniques with minimal injury risk to care workers and service users. 
• Nutrition, Hydration, And Food Hygiene Awareness: Understanding the responsibilities of safely dealing with food and the importance of nutrition and hydration for healthy living.
• Safeguarding Adults And Children: Ability to recognise, monitor, report, and appropriately respond to adult or child abuse.

Safer Handling Of Medication: Knowledge of safe handling, administrating and disposal of medication.

Care Career Progression

You can advance your career as a care worker by learning new skills and getting specialised training for people with dementia, Alzheimer, or other conditions that require specially trained carers. There is a lot of carer progression available. You can also work toward a career in managing a care home or agency. You can become a care manager, recruitment expert, branch manager, area manager, and so on. 

The home care industry is progressing. More people prefer to live with dignity and independence in their own homes, and for that, they rely on care workers. 

At Pair my Care, we like to offer support and training to make sure that every care worker has access to the right tools and training needed. 
Join us today to embark on the most fulfilling journey of your life.