Qualifying as a carer in the UK

[mchapman47]

Dear all, My wife is in the Philippines and about to begin a 6 month tesda accredited course so that she can be a carer here in the UK. We are under the impression that she needs this qualification to be a carer here, however there are caregiving courses available in the UK. Does anyone know how to get on these courses in the UK? She has graduated high school and has done a few short courses in PI but has very little in the way of caregiving training.
Any advice will be gratefully appreciated! Thanks a lot, mark

[Steve.r]

Welcome to the forum Mark. Sorry I cannot help with your question, but I am sure someone will be along soon enough to help you.:)

[mchapman47]

very nice of you! and its great to be here. I can see theres lots of great info for my wife once shes back. shes been here a year until this year and this sort of info would have been great :)

[aug06_2006]

Hello Mark welcome to this helpful n useful forum.Btw,me work as a carer just lucky really I got a job with no qualification...

[Terpe]

Hi there Mark, welcome here to the forum :xxgrinning--00xx3:

What type of care work is your wife interested in?

Child
Elderly
Residential Care units
Community Care
Nursing Home
etc etc

Here in UK there's no requirement for any specific qualification to gain entry level employments as a carer.
Most residential care homes and nursing homes carry around 30% of unqualified staff (most under training) and the remainder as skilled staff or senior carers with around 10% involved as supervisors and care management.

It's required that each employer should have a certain percentage of staff qualified to NVQ2 level
All employers will engage new employees with their in-house induction and will offer the opportunity to take up NVQ training for qualification.
This is nearly always freely given as on-the-job training while you are actually working.

Anyone wanting to progress their career will be able to move up the NVQ levels or attend local college courses in various levels of social care.

My wife used to be a Community Careworker. Means she would visit people in their homes to provide whatever care was needed. She was a 'walker carer' in our small village.
She is now working in a local Residential Care home and she is responsible for a specialised dementia unit.
She has been involved with care for over 4 years now.

TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) is an agency in the Philippines that organises and provides various training programs.
Among those offered is a Caregiver Course.

My own personal view is that your wife should NOT need to spend money and time undergoing such a course. It will certainly not give her any edge or extra help in securing care employment here in the UK. May I suggest that she concentrates on improving her English language speaking and listening skills as much as possible, especially for care work.
This would be much better achieved here in UK where she can 'tune' her ears to the language of those who need care.
I aslo believe it would be better advise to utilise any money to submit a spouse visa application asap. She will hopefully find herself here in UK with you as support as she settles down to a new life and finds her feet around a whole new set of challenges.

Of course, it's a decision for you both, but in general you will find that most qualifications from Philippines will not be accepted in UK at the same level of specialisation.

If you have any specific questions, concerns or doubts just post here plenty of people will help and support.

No offence intended Mark. Just my opinion.

Do you plan to live in an area where there are a number of employment opportunities for her?

[mchapman47]

thanks people! we have he spousal visa sorted (and so has passed the english language requirements, but thats a good point you make about 'tuning your ears') and shes been here a year but wanted to get this extra qualification as shes not had a lot of luck with jobs. maybe its just hard to get a job these days! she would prefer a nursing home job, and we live in oxford as thats where i work for now. we dont have a car and so she cant drive and be a community careworke, in the sense of traveling between jobs as and when she is needed, but maybe that should be our next investment.
thanks very much once again. its great to hear as many peoples views of this as possible!

[joebloggs]

try to find a job at your local hospital, there will be a wide variety of jobs there, get her foot on the ladder and move up, some jobs are only advertised internally.

[mchapman47]

thanks joebloggs thats great advice too

[Terpe]

Try this link to Mears Care in Oxford:-
http://www.homecare.co.uk/homecare/agency.cfm/id/65432186451

Gotta be worth a phone call. I have no connection with the company at all. BTW it's a well know National Group

[mchapman47]

i am actually making a list of numbers to call right now. great minds...
the best place to know about the qualifications needed is of course the places that are doing the employing! thanks a lot!

[Doc Alan]

Welcome to the forum Mark :) Terpe's correct in telling you that currently in UK there's no requirement for any specific qualification to gain entry level employments as a carer.
Things could soon change as the government plans to introduce a new system of healthcare support staff from next year ( see www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16252846 ).
You might find other links of interest ( see http://filipinaroses.com/showthread.php/35967-Nursing-links ).

[andy222]

She needs a minimum NVQ 2 in health and social care for a nursing home. Some prefer NVQ 3. I would reccomend she finds a community caring trust to start with and they will train her up. Hope this helps.

[mchapman47]

thanks Doc Alan! and its good that youre backing up the initial response. its good to know about the potential for the rules to change too.. and thanks too andy222 i think thats what well aim to achieve with a job such as you suggest

[lastlid]

Hi there Mark, welcome here to the forum :xxgrinning--00xx3:

What type of care work is your wife interested in?

Child
Elderly
Residential Care units
Community Care
Nursing Home
etc etc

Here in UK there's no requirement for any specific qualification to gain entry level employments as a carer.


Thats correct as my daughter did exactly that a few years ago, got a job as a care assistant without any recognised carer qualifications. She then got a job as an assistant Dietetic Nurse, without any nursing or carer qualifications. However now she is studying (in her final year) as a State Registered Nurse.

[grahamw48]

1000's of vacancies for Careworkers (usually minimum wage).

As others have said, training on the job.

Don't waste time or money on (Careworker) courses in the Phils. They will mean nothing here.