Studying for a career in care work is hugely popular nowadays. It’s no surprise when the job opportunities in this sector continue to climb, thanks to Australia’s ageing population and high numbers of people with disabilities.
Perhaps you’re considering this career path for yourself – maybe you even started your learning journey already and want to know which individual support stream to focus on (and the units of study you’ll need to complete to follow this path).
Today, we’re looking at the similarities and differences between the two streams, ageing and disability, to help you decide which stream aligns best with your career goals.
- Why Study Care Work
- Differences in Aged Care vs. Disability Care
- What is aged care?
- What is disability care?
- Studying Aged Care vs. Disability Care
- How to Choose Between Aged Care and Disability Care
- Aged care work highlights
- Disability care work highlights
- Aged Care vs Disability Care: Which One is Right for You?
Why Study Care Work
When we talk about care work, this may take many different guises, depending on the people or person being cared for. Two key disciplines have become prominent in the care field in recent years due mainly to the rise in people living longer as well as the increase in people with disabilities, both physical and mental.
This growth means the potential employment opportunities in care work have increased – and that’s excellent news for anybody who wants a fulfilling career caring for people in need.
Before entering the care sector, you are encouraged to gain a formal qualification – as a minimum, a level III Certificate – to learn essential job skills and to give yourself the best chance of employment. In care work, the relevant qualifications are the CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing) and the CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support (Disability).
Differences in Aged Care vs. Disability Care
You might be asking yourself why there is a separate qualification for each type of care work. It’s understandable that aged care and disability care can appear similar at first glance, yet it’s important for anyone considering working in either field to distinguish the differences between the two.
Let’s begin by looking at each of these specialisms to understand their differences.
What is aged care?
The term ‘aged care’ refers to a variety of support services designed to assist older adults with daily activities, healthcare, and social involvement as they age. This care includes personal assistance, nursing, therapy, meal preparation, housekeeping, and social activities, all tailored to meet individual needs.
Aged care workers are crucial in addressing basic emotional and social needs, helping older citizens lead happy and healthy lives in their senior years. Thanks to their help, older Australians can maintain a high quality of life and receive necessary care whether they remain in their own homes or move to a residential care facility.
What is disability care?
Over 4 million Australians have a disability, many needing daily support. To address this need, the government established the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in 2013, providing funding and services to help individuals access essential support, including professional care.
Since most people with disabilities want to live at home and maintain their independence, it’s up to care workers to visit them and provide vital in-home support either daily or around-the-clock, depending on the complexity of their clients’ needs.
So, whether you end up working in aged care or supporting people with disabilities, rest assured these can be demanding yet richly rewarding roles for anybody wanting to make a difference in the lives of others.
Studying Aged Care vs. Disability Care
There are many crossover points in care work, whether you’re looking after older adults or people with disabilities. In fact, lots of daily duties remain similar from one to the other – like providing personal care, medical care and emotional support to your clients, as well as documenting any changes to their condition to share with other health professionals.
This means when it comes to studying aged care or disability care, you’ll find that students learn several of the same practical skills regardless of their future specialism.
You will see what we mean when we take a closer look at the Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing) and the Certificate III in Individual Support (Disability) courses.
Among the 15 units of study on either course, the nine core units remain identical whether you are focusing your studies on ageing or disabilities.
This is helpful for anybody seeking work in the care sector who wants to keep their options open for later.
Yet, a specialism is exactly that for a reason, and you will learn several competencies specific to aged care or disability care when studying an individual support certificate – which is why you’ll want to know before you embark on a course that specialism is the right one for you. Here are the six electives for each specialism side by side:
While you can see the key differences here, there are also some skills which apply to either specialism – like learning to ‘Address the needs of people with chronic disease’ (ultimately, because someone with a chronic disease may also be ageing).
And even when you know what you’ll be learning, how do you know this is what you want to do once your course is completed?
How to Choose Between Aged Care and Disability Care
If you are keen on care work, you are likely passionate about helping others. You will also have personal skills like empathy, reliability, resilience, and the ability to communicate effectively and solve problems with and for your clients in your kit bag.
But when you are completely new to care work, how do you know whether to specialise in aged care or disability care?
Like any profession, it comes down to several factors: personal fulfilment is key. Of course, it’s easy to look from the outside in and think that something looks appealing, yet you don’t always know until you’re doing a job whether it’s right for you!
So, here are three things you might not know about each care work specialism to help you decide which one will give you the most job satisfaction and, ultimately, which one to study.
Aged care work highlights
Historical enrichment:
Many older adults have some terrific stories to tell – and they love to share them, too! This type of role is perfect for someone who loves hearing tales from way back when, about a very different time for their client – perhaps learning some history about Australia at the same time, not to mention fascinating stories from their youth.
Holistic care:
When supporting older people in their home or a care facility, you provide a blend of physical, emotional, and social care to ensure all aspects of their health are addressed. Knowing you play a huge role in their quality of life can be personally rewarding.
Social fun:
If you are considering aged care work in a residential care home, you will likely tend to more than one client, which can prove extremely sociable. You might find some of the social activities offered for residents to be great fun – piano singalongs, exercise classes, or jigsaw/board game groups – and you may find participating in these activities just as fulfilling as it is for your clients.
Disability care work highlights
All ages:
Working with disabilities means working with people of all ages, from children to older adults. This can be extremely beneficial to care workers who prefer variety and want the personal fulfilment of supporting people of all ages, whether it’s within a family environment or working with individuals living independently.
Getting out and about:
There are plenty of engaging activities for clients with both mental and physical disabilities, and as a care worker, you can also find these experiences rewarding and enjoyable. Visiting a park or gardens, swimming at an accessible pool or spending time close to the beach and breathing in the sea air – all these activities can enrich your clients while bringing fun to your role.
The joy of milestones:
Imagine seeing your clients achieve a major milestone – like saying a new word or completing a task independently for the first time. These goals are huge for people with disabilities, and being involved in reaching those goals can feel deeply rewarding for care workers.
Aged Care vs Disability Care: Which One is Right for You?
Hopefully, you now have plenty of information to help you decide which care worker pathway suits your personal goals.
In summary, aged care work allows you to apply a range of skills – physical, emotional and social – to help older people live a happy and healthy life in their home or alongside others in a care facility. Disability care work has no age restrictions and allows you to help people with disabilities – from children to adults – enjoy life independently thanks to your support.
Whichever specialism you choose, a deeply rewarding career awaits you. If you still have questions about the right pathway for you, arrange a chat with a course specialist at Insight Training.
