Currently, one of Australia’s most rapidly growing industries is the aged care industry. And job opportunities are expected to grow in the next few years overwhelmingly. So, if you love working with older people, you can seriously think about choosing this sector as your career path.
Whether you will work for a community-based service centre or an aged care facility, doing a Certificate 4 in Aged Care from an Adelaide institute can equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge. This course is an advanced level course provided to people who may have some exposure to the sector. This blog discusses the essential details about this course and how it can offer you a rewarding career.
Things to know about the Certificate IV in Aged Care
The certificate iv in individual support (Code: CHC43015) is a VET (Vocational Education and Training) course designed to equip students with a more advanced level of technical skills and knowledge to provide the necessary support to older Australians. With the number of older Australians increasing and is estimated to double in a few decades, the need for aged care will only increase, ensuring more job opportunities and security. The Certificate 4 course will be beneficial to learn to provide care for and empower them, thus improving their quality of life.
This course will provide you with the relevant experience and knowledge needed to support older people with more complex needs. Things you will learn from the course will include training in:
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- Palliative and dementia care
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- Service planning and execution
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- Preventions of falls and interventions for aged clients who are at high risks.
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- Healthcare and hygiene for elderly clients
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- Coordinating services for them
Other basic features of this course are as follows.
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- It is a full-time course delivered over a 52-week period.
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- Based on your requirements, you can either choose on-campus learning or offline classes or a combination of the two.
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- In this course, you will go through a mandatory workplace training of 120 hours, which will help you find your employment after completing the course.
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- There are 18 study units, which include 15 core and 3 elective ones. Some of the core units include ‘Follow safe work practices for direct client care’, ‘Facilitate the empowerment of older people, ‘Provide support to people living with dementia,’ etc.
Several requirements must be satisfied to enrol in Certificate 4 in Aged Care course.
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- Your age must be at least 18 years, and therefore, the final school leaving certificate will be required.
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- If you are 21 years old, you should demonstrate a Certificate II qualification or higher or hold industry experience of a minimum of 2 years in a job role where you will be required to use written communication and documentation.
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- Basic computer programming skills will be necessary.
In addition, you should also be physically very strong and can move and bend quickly. Hearing ability should also be sharp as you may need to hear alarms or cries for help.
What job opportunities will be available after you complete the Certificate IV course?
While Certificate III in Individual Support helps a person get roles like aged care worker or personal care worker, Certificate IV in Ageing Support can help you find more supervisory or managerial roles. Job opportunities that will be available upon completion of your course are as follows.
Aged Care Team Leader
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- As an aged care team leader, you will need to supervise a team of aged care workers to assist older clients. This support can be provided in the clients’ homes, a nursing home, or an aged care facility centre.
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- Responsibilities will include helping clients with day-to-day activities like cooking, cleaning, and driving them to keep appointments.
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- An aged care team leader will always have extra duties like attending staff issues like rostering or training.
Residential care worker
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- As a residential care worker, you will need to deliver your service in either a nursing home or an aged care facility centre.
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- Various responsibilities will include attending basic care tasks like dressing or showering and assisting the clients in joining community activities. In fact, as a residential care worker, you will be required to encourage your clients to participate in social activities. It will keep them highly motivated.
Divisional therapist
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- The job of a divisional therapist will be coordinating activities for older people residing in nursing homes or aged care facilities.
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- They may arrange physical movement sessions, social events, or various recreational activities.
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- In addition to working for a small group of people, divisional therapists can also arrange special activities and outings for a larger group.
You can also choose to study
Not only jobs, but also you can find various higher education pathways after completing this aged care course from any Adelaide institution. Various higher education pathways are as follows.
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- You can choose Certificate IV in Leisure and Health or Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance.
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- Doing an Advanced Diploma of Community Sector Management can be another option. Especially if you want to get placed in more managerial roles in this aged care sector.
Using your Certificate IV in Ageing Support, you can also enrol in a university degree. Like Bachelor of Dementia Care or Bachelor of Healthy Ageing. The main benefit of doing a university degree is gaining specialised knowledge and applying for job roles that come with greater responsibilities.
Final words
Various institutions in Adelaide offer different aged care courses. However, when it comes to making a decision, you have to choose the course wisely. First, you should ask your institute about important course information, because differences in requirements and other things may occur from one institute to the other.
That is why we always recommend students ask several questions on the course duration, course fees, and requirements. Once you find the most suitable one, you should not hesitate and start planning.
