ROSIE'S STORY

In her previous life, Rosita Long was a school-teacher who’d had a long and satisfying career helping young people develop the foundational skills and knowledge that would serve them throughout their personal and working life. She decided it was time for a career change during the recent drought, when things were looking grim on her farm and she was forced to sell her cattle.

Rosie retired from teaching, enrolling in a Certificate III in Individual Support – Ageing Specialisation at Inverell Community College. Her decision to study aged care had been influenced by her experience with aged care staff when her father was in a nursing home in Lismore. She remembers the effect the staff had over her experience—how lovely they were and what a difference they made to the residents.

Rosie is one of a growing group of skilled workers who are switching careers after years spent working in the industry they originally trained for. She chose Community College for her training because they offered a six-month course and she felt this was a good timeframe to complete her studies and gain employment, rather than having to wait for 12 months.

The interaction with other students and the trainer in class was a feature of the training for Rosie, who felt the trainer made the course come alive in a way that made learning easy.

“I really enjoyed my study. Having been a teacher it was so nice to be on the other side and let somebody else do all the organising, thinking and planning. I also really enjoyed the group that I was with. I got to know some lovely people and made some lasting friendships.”

Rosie’s study has given her a good grounding to prepare her for the workplace. During her face-to-face training she learned about aged care theory, policies and procedures and the legal aspects of working in the industry. The practical side of aged care is a featured component of the training with students learning clinical skills, infection control and manual handling and undertaking 120 hours of work placement during their course at a local aged care facility.

Community College trainer Ean Muhs says the college prides itself on the delivery of face-to-face training to people who may be experiencing barriers to their learning.

“Trying to get older people to learn online or learn from a textbook can be hard so we run our classes face-to-face to give students the opportunity to ask questions and to interact with other students in a classroom which is something they may not have done for a very long time. Community College trainers are industry employed and this allows them to bring real world experience to the classroom, putting student learning into the context of a real-life situation. It’s very hands-on.”

Rosie is already working as a carer at a local aged care facility in Inverell. Her advice to others thinking about studying to increase their skills or to change careers is to go for it.