Care has always attracted those who want more meaning from their working lives. In 2021, 56% of the sector’s new starters had worked in a different industry in the past two years.
So if you’re thinking about changing to a career in care, you’re in good company. But if you’ve only worked in other sectors, how do you know if you’re suitable for care work?
In this article, we’ll help you understand by exploring:
- Why you might consider switching to a career in care
- The transferable skills the care sector is crying out for
- Life experience that might make you suitable for care work
Let’s start by looking at motivation.
Why do people want to work in care?
‘What motivates care workers?’ It’s a simple question that appears to have a simple answer: it’s the fulfilment and pride that comes from making a difference to people’s lives.
But while this is often true, research into care worker motivations has revealed that it’s just one of many drivers for getting into – and making a career out of – paid care work.
Other factors that motivate people for a career in care include:
- Identity – they identify as ‘caring’ by nature and this makes them feel suitable for, and good at, caring as a profession. It’s both who they are, and what they do.
- Relationships – they get meaning and belonging from relationships with the people in their care, their colleagues, organisation and the occupation in general.
- Family – they’ve been around, or provided unpaid care for, a family member with care needs, which gives them the passion and confidence to take on a paid role.
- Convenience – many carers live and work in close proximity, and shift work can provide flexibility for parents or those who provide care for a loved one.
- Job security – with consistently high vacancy and staff turnover rates in the sector, care workers know there will always be strong demand for their skills and experience.
Interested in care worker motivation? Check out this 2023 study of over 100 care assistants, this 2015 study of over 1,900 surveys, and this 2015 analysis of 19 care worker interviews.
If you’re thinking about a career in care and any of these motivators resonate with you, you could be on the right track for a rewarding change. The next question is:
Do you already have work skills that the care sector needs?
Transferable skills for care work: what can you bring with you?
In a previous article, we explored the essential soft skills for care. These are the personal qualities that make a great carer, separate from their technical training and knowledge.
So here, let’s look at specific workplace knowledge and abilities you might have already picked up – and which could help you find success in your new career as a carer.
Serving customers
Any experience with customers or service users would be beneficial in care. Representing a company with integrity, adhering to strict standards and codes of conduct, showing patience and composure when people are distressed or unhappy – these are all vital skills for care.
Identifying needs
Have you had a role that was basically about figuring out what people need, and helping them get it? This takes emotional intelligence, active listening skills, the ability to read reactions and genuinely wanting to help – all of which are fundamental to providing care.
Working in a team
A good team member understands their position in it, relative to those of their teammates. They communicate effectively with those around them, take instruction and feedback well, and value collaboration. Working well with others is often what makes care possible.
Using technology
If you’re experienced and confident with digital systems and devices, particularly for entering and retrieving data, you already have a highly sought-after skill. Technology is now deeply-embedded in the provision of care, and digital skills are a must-have for carers.
Managing time
Have you been required to deal with constant time pressure? To be thorough and maintain attention to detail in the face of competing, and shifting, priorities? To adapt when things don’t go to plan? If you have, you’ve learned some of the top skills for social care.
How, and where, might you have developed these skills already?
Life experience that can build transferable skills for care
We’ve already seen that exposure to care needs within the family can create the passion, skills and confidence required to build a career as a paid carer.
And current or former healthcare workers should be well-suited to social care. But what other kinds of personal or professional experience could set you up for this career change?
Retail and hospitality
In 2021, a fifth of those who moved into social care came from customer service, retail and sales – mostly due to the impact of COVID-19 on their sectors. Communicating, serving, working in teams and the physical nature of the work had prepared them for a career in care.
Volunteering
Carers aren’t paid anywhere near enough for the hard and important work they do. If you’ve volunteered with a charity or a community organisation, you’ve already been driven by the desire to make a difference. This is likely to be a vital motivator in your care career, too.
Adult education
Even if it’s in an unrelated field, having pursued post-19 education demonstrates a commitment to personal development that will be an asset to you as a carer. What’s more, you’ve developed listening and problem-solving skills that will prove invaluable in your role.
Administration and reception
Consider what a great PA, administrator or receptionist does: communicates, organises with technology, manages time and schedules, greets and treats people with warmth, anticipates needs, keeps accurate records. Any care sector employer would appreciate these skills.
Teaching, childcare and parenting
Looking after or educating children is not the same as caring for elderly, sick or vulnerable people. But to do any of these things well, similar skills are needed: extreme patience, simple communication, identification of needs that can’t be expressed, compassion for frustration and confusion, empathy, a desire to help and promote development.
Sports clubs and communities
Much like voluntary work, belonging to a sports or community organisation reveals a drive to meet needs beyond your own. And whether you’re involved as a coach, leader, organiser or participant, the care sector would value your passion, commitment and teamwork skills.
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Feel like you have the right transferable skills for care? Explore our free online care courses and start adding some great care worker technical qualifications to your CV today.
Our learning platform has over 100 free courses tailored to your interests, career goals and learning style. They’re endorsed by Skills for Care, and many are CPD-accredited too.
