AGED CARE COURSE

To complete your Aged Care course you must complete 120 hours of vocational placement in a relevant industry workplace.  

Before commencing work placement you must meet all the following requirements. All costs associated with these requirements are the student’s responsibility.

• National Police Check Clearance Certificate
• Working with children check
• NDIS Worker Screening check (if applicable)
• Vulnerable Person Employment Check (if applicable)
• First Aid qualification
• COVID19 vaccinations (minimum 3)
• Flu vaccinations (may be required for particular organisations)
• Associated uniform costs for work placement (e.g. enclosed shoes, black pants, student shirt)

Please note: requirements for work placement can vary in certain jurisdictions. Consult with our education team for more details prior to commencing your placement.

There are no formal academic or professional requirements needed to enrol in an aged care course in Australia.

Skills Training College’s aged care course takes at least three weeks to complete. The exact time to complete the course depends on a student’s own skill level and commitment to completing their at home theoretical study and work placements.

The classroom based training consists of a minimum of 15 sessions. Training is full time, starting at 9am and running until 5pm each day, for three weeks. The self-paced theory learning takes approximately 30-60 hours. Students must also complete a minimum of 120 hours of work placement in their own time.

Yes. Workplace training is an essential part of a Certificate III in Individual Support. A simulated workplace environment is not a substitute for the real workplaces when it comes to ensuring you’ve embodied the care outcomes of an aged care course.

While there are some entry-level roles which require no qualifications, an aged care course is typically a minimum requirement for most aged care or ageing support positions. From there, additional aged care study, training, and qualifications can be undertaken for better employment opportunities.

No. While a portion of this course must be completed online in students’ own time, working in aged care requires skills sets which can only be achieved through practical training.

Necessary skills include practical training in how to recognise healthy body systems, infection prevention and control policies, and the ability to assist clients with taking their medication, among others.

To work in aged care in Australia, a Certificate III in Individual Support is absolutely necessary. Students must complete the course through the aged care elective stream before they can work effectively in the aged care industry.

While one can provide personal care to a family member or loved one in need without an aged care certification, it is not recommended. Without completing an aged care course, care givers will not be able to fully understand what is required of a them, what the safe work practices for aged care are, nor their legal responsibilities as a care giver.

Emotionally, aged care work can be challenging. However, for a compassionate and motivated person whose heart is in the right place, the career outcomes can be just as rewarding.

Aged care workers face difficult situations no matter their specialty as they provide direct client care to people facing some of life’s most confronting challenges. Palliative care workers are constantly exposed to death as they make people comfortable at the end of their lives, and provide grief and loss support to both patients and their loved ones. Dementia care services are challenging as require workers to support people with reduced mental capabilities. Any aged care worker may also have to identify and report abuse where they see aged care services not properly enacted.

How easy it is to find work or work placement or volunteer opportunities depends on where you want to go in your aged care career. Searching online is an easy way to find aged care residences, hospices, retirement villages, and other aged care facilities. Locations such as these often have volunteers in high demand, providing an easy first step into aged care work.

The facility in which you perform your practical placement may allow you to stay on as a volunteer. They may even be one of your potential future employers. If you’re struggling to find aged care work, or a location to perform your work placement’s hours, your trainer may be able to point you in the right direction.

An aged care course can be considered tax deductible if you already work with elderly people in a position where self-education can be considered either upskilling or maintaining your position. In these instances, your course expenses are tax deductible. Check with an accountant or tax specialist for more information.

If you’d like to do more than just provide ageing support to people in need, you can expand your specialty by undertaking further study to advance your career. Healthcare requires a diverse range of skill sets, and the best opportunities for further studies include some of the following:

• Disability care. Disability support is an alternative elective stream to aged care for a Certificate III in Individual Support.
• Manual handling. Healthcare offered requires moving patients safely, a skills taught in a manual handling course.
• First aid. First aid provides a wide range of skills, such as CPR, all of which are essential to working in health or community services.
• A blue card. A working with children check is essential to expanding your healthcare career to work with children. Please note this course is not offered through Skills Training College.
• A Certificate IV. The logical next step after a Certificate III level, there are many Certificate IV opportunities each instructing students with different health skills. Currently, Skills Training College does not offer any Certificate IV courses in healthcare.

Both a Certificate III and a Certificate IV in aged care require students to complete theoretical readings, practical exercises, and work experience in an appropriate aged care setting. At a basic level, the difference between these two qualifications is that a Certificate III is an entry level qualification and a Certificate IV is more advanced.
A Certificate III represents the perfect first step for someone looking to begin working in the aged care industry. Meanwhile, a Certificate IV delves much deeper into aged care knowledge and skills, and is best for those seeking leadership and management positions within the industry.