As Assured Home Care continues to grow, employment opportunities are increasing for trained workers with the right values.

Limited time offer – Complete your Certificate IV in Disability or Mental Health online for only $50

Assured Home Care, in partnership with Education Training & Employment Australia (ETEA) and the SA Government, are excited to offer a one-time opportunity to prepare those looking for a career change or new employment to complete a Certificate IV in Disability or Certificate IV in Mental Health online, in readiness for possible entry into the community services sector.

• The $50 special (normally $4000-$5000) is only for those who mention Assured Home Care when enrolling at ETEA.

• SA Government eligibility requirements apply.

• Completion of the course is not a guarantee of future employment with Assured Home Care.

• Standard employment application and selection protocols apply for employment with Assured Home Care.

To find out more, download the cert-iv-disability-brochure or cert-iv-mental-health-brochure.

For further information or to enrol, please call or email Education Training & Employment Australia (ETEA) on (08) 8150 9500 or email sainfo@etea.edu.au.

You must be enrolled and have paid before the 15th May – there are no extensions.

Deb

Deb has been with Assured long enough to remember a time when there were only a handful of staff in the office.

Motivated to “give back to the community,” Deb started work in child care, before moving into aged care and now disability support. Deb works with a number of clients in the North-Eastern suburbs, including individuals housed within Assured’s supported accommodation units.

When it comes to her work, “Every day is different,” according to Deb.

In particular, Deb enjoys the opportunity to be outside a lot, whether it be taking clients for trips to the beach or playground, or other recreational activities.

“I like that I’m not indoors all the time,” she says.

“Two brothers with autism that I have been working with over the last 5 years love to get outside; Sunday drives to the beach, walking around in the sunshine…. it’s very therapeutic for them.”

“I love interacting with them; it’s nice to see them happy, with smiles on their faces.”

Deb loves the flexibility of her job and appreciates that Assured have always been accommodating with her work hours.

“I like that the company has strong family values; they understand that we have families too and are very flexible around this.”

Ros

Meeting different people, and seeing the smiles on clients’ faces, are the best parts of the job, according to Ros.

With previous experience in a nursing care setting, Ros started with Assured some 9 years ago and has been providing support for both disability and aged care clients, including working with several long-term clients.

Ros is conscious that her work often involves working around the specific needs of a household.

“At the moment, I support one mother with 4 sons, one of whom is profoundly disabled,” says Ros.

“I work around her schedule, which involves sporting commitments with her other sons, to help out,” she says.

Working with the son with a disability, and developing a relationship, has been rewarding and Ros has become attuned to his feelings and mood.

“While he can’t communicate, there is no doubt that he understands everything.”

While Ros has some hair-raising stories to tell about situations that she has been confronted with over the years, she is focused and looks forward to enjoying those “nice days” where people make it clear that she is well valued for her work.

“I had one lady in Henley Beach specifically ask for my assistance after she’d had another worker come in,” says Ros.

“It was really nice to hear.”

Pauline

Pauline lives in the beautiful Yankalilla district with most of her clients being longer term clients around the Aldinga, Sellicks Beach and Southern districts.

“I was always interested in aged care,’ says Pauline.

“I observed my grandmother struggling to meet the needs of my grandfather (who was much older) and thought that there must be a better level of support available to people,” she says.

“So, I went and got my Certificate and, from there, started my career as a Support Worker.”

From the outset, Pauline had a preference for providing home care services, rather than working in a residential care facility.

“I believe that it [home care] allows you to have a better one-to-one relationship with people and to deliver a greater level of personal care,” says Pauline.

“Most of my clients have been great; they have respect for me and the work that I do,” she says.

“I’ve only had a couple of bad experiences.”

Building trust is important, and being a good listener is key, says Pauline as, “Clients tell me everything!”

Pauline has enjoyed the flexibility offered by Assured in supporting her work and appreciates the family values that the company is built on.

“They have been particularly accommodating when it comes to personal responsibilities,” she says.

“It’s a fabulous place to work.”

“I even encouraged my sister to work here.”

Further Information
Are you looking to make a positive difference?
Head over to our Careers page to start (or continue) your journey in the care profession.

Maintaining a close relationship with our support workers, ensuring that they feel recognised, supported and connected with our office team and other support workers is, therefore, of high importance to us.

So, how do you keep your workforce engaged remotely?

Technology can certainly provide some answers, and we’ve been implementing several new technology initiatives to support our workers in the field.

For some time now, we’ve been using social media to connect our support team as a community, to communicate company developments and to encourage staff and client recognition with the contribution of regular ‘good news stories’.

We’ve implemented software to support our recruitment and on-boarding process, and to provide a better communication channel when it comes to sharing key organisational information, policies and procedures, and identifying training and development opportunities for staff.

We are also moving to providing online learning options to complement our face-to-face training, enabling our staff to undertake modules at their own convenience, without having to come into the office.

We are proud that a recent staff satisfaction survey showed that, in general, our community workers feel fulfilled in their job, have the materials and equipment needed to perform, are being recognised and rewarded for their work, and receive supportive training and development.

Of course, there’s always room for improvement, and we hope that our technology investment will assist in communicating with, and further supporting our team in the field – into the future.

That said, technology does not replace one-to-one interaction. Instead, it will sit alongside our continued development of ‘offline’ strategies and structures that are designed to promote team-building, mentoring, skills and career development.

We need to get the people and technology balance right.

Values are important to us. It’s our values that are the reason that we started this business, and it’s our values that drive us every day. We want to make a positive difference not only in the lives of our clients, but in those of our staff and others.

We want to make sure that we are providing all the tools to help people excel in their work, and to develop in their chosen career.

And, it’s people with the right values that we look to recruit, always.

Experience and qualifications are one thing, but for us, the most important thing are the values that individuals bring into our workplace. We encourage people at all stages of life, and from all backgrounds, to consider support work as a career.

We’ll support you to get there!

If you’d like to find out more, head over to our Careers page now.

For some time now, the pair have enjoyed long conversations on all things fish related.
And, recently, they decided to take it one step further.

A long-time angler, Taz always keeps his fishing equipment in the car and, together, the pair decided to go down to West Lakes Shore to see what was biting.

Like so many of our Support Workers, Taz is keen to ensure our clients are given the time to explore the things that they love.

“I always try to make sure that they have some quality experiences and remember some really good times,” says Taz.

“It was a great pleasure to take Mark as I can see just how much he enjoys,” he says.
“He caught a fish on his own and was just so happy!”

“Unfortunately, the bream was too small, though, so we had to release it back,” he says.

“It was very disappointing!” Mark agrees.

Mark has since invested in his own fishing gear (with Taz’s expert assistance) and the pair now regularly go fishing together around the West Lakes area.

Mark has said that it brings back memories of his father taking him fishing when he was a boy.

“I had my own boat when I lived in Bundaberg (Queensland) and I would go fishing regularly with my Dad,” he says.

Mark’s is highly personable and independent with his disability (autism) mainly affecting his working memory, but he has developed systems and supports around him to assist.

Generally, Taz (and Assured Support Worker Sam) work with Mark on a weekly basis to prepare meals, take him to appointments and support recreation and activities in the community – now including, of course, regular fishing!

Alongside fishing, Mark enjoys gaming and is a keen Dr Who fan (“Tom Baker is my favourite Doctor”) who keeps a very large and growing DVD collection, which takes pride of place next to a feature cabinet of dragon figurines and an aquarium with some prized neon tetras.

He also likes to pull apart and configure computers and has, until recently, worked in the Electronics division at Minda. With relocation of the facility, however, Mark will soon be shifting to Bedford, and Assured recently attended his induction.

“I’m looking forward to meeting the new people,” he says.

Otherworldly experiences (outside of fishing!)

Mark is particularly open to supernatural experiences and has a fascination for the eerie and otherworldly.

“When I was young and living in a house in Valley View, my sisters had a Ouija board,” says Mark.

“I’d be getting up in the night and there would be a chap with a beard and you would hear footsteps down the hallway and the fridge opening,” he says.

“It scared me at first, but it was a friendly ghost,” he laughs.

Mark is hoping that he can find a Support Worker soon who will be brave enough to take him on a ghost tour of the Adelaide Gaol (something we are working on!)

Our talented team of Support Workers

Taz is a relatively recent addition to the Assured team.

His background was in aquaculture, where he worked for 10 years as an Agricultural Fisheries Adviser in Bangladesh, training and assisting people in rural areas to develop greater capacity and skill in commercial fisheries management under a national Government Funding program.

Taz found that it was the human connection that he had with the local people – interacting with many different types of people, assisting those in poverty and understanding their issues – that was one of the best parts of the job and something he felt passionate about.

It’s these fundamental elements that he has also found in working as a Support Worker in Australia.

“I really like to share stories with people and to learn new things,” he says.

“I’ve found that it’s really important not to stereotype people as every individual is different,” he says.

“As a Support Worker, you need to get to know their background and what interests them, for you to be able to support them well.”

In his spare time, Taz is heavily involved in the local Bangladeshi Community Association (currently serving as Secretary), which is part of the Ethnic Schools Association of South Australia. He is a keen writer and poet in his native Bengali and a regular contributor (and former editor) of the Association’s magazine..

He is also a talented amateur photographer whose work was chosen last year to display at the National Art Gallery in Bangladesh.

And the future of fishing for Taz and Mark?

Mark has nearly completed requirements for his Learner driver license and will soon be going for his P’s.

With the chance of increased mobility, he will be looking to go fishing farther afield but, according to Mark, “only around parts of South Australia at this stage”.

Let’s hope the (oversized) bream are waiting!

As many of our support workers can attest, developing strong bonds with the people that they care for, and their families, can be the most satisfying part of the job.

“It’s all been a good experience,” says Support Worker Berneice, revealing the positive attitude that she brings to her work.

Over the last 8 years, Berneice has worked with several disability and aged clients across Adelaide, with some relationships spanning her time with Assured.

“I’ve always worked in caring,” says Berneice.

“I did do a stint in a nursing care facility but found that it didn’t allow the time to really develop a connection with people,” she says.

“I definitely prefer the rapport and one-to-one relationship that comes with working in home support.”

“Just the feeling that you are helping families, and the appreciation that clients have of the work that you do.”

It’s this close relationship, built over the years, that Berneice values the most.

“With some of my clients, I feel like I’m an extra Nanna,” says Berneice.

“Some clients have waited until I come back from holidays, rather than have another support worker in,” she says.

“That’s very rewarding to hear.”

Support Worker Anne would agree.

Making the career change to disability care some 7 years ago, Anne has enjoyed the strong bonds that she has developed, not just with her clients, but with their entire family.

“I’ve been able to observe the impact of an individual’s disability on the parents, and siblings,” she says.

“Having the ability to step in and help families, when I’ve seen the Mum’s (in particular) really struggle – is very rewarding,” she says.

“Caring for others has enhanced my life.”

A sentiment that Support Worker Myrna would wholly agree with.

Myrna used to work in manufacturing, but with a downturn in the industry, looked to domestic support as a career option.

“Becoming a part of people’s lives has been extremely rewarding,” says Myrna.

“Knowing that my clients look forward to me coming, and just to hear them smile or laugh is very motivating,” she says.

“I have some ‘golden girlfriends’, elderly clients who I spend some of my time with, even outside of work.”

“I learn a lot from them, such as crafts, recipes, gardening and games,” she says.

“I value my work and should have done it years ago,” she says.

Support Worker Fatma, who has been with Assured now for over 9 years, sums it up well.

She believes that caring for others has made her a happier person.

“I love the people”, she says.

“If they cry, I cry. If they laugh, I laugh.”

“My job makes me a better person,” she says.

“It helps me to understand people and gives me more knowledge of how to help people.”

We will be recognising Berneice, Anne, Myrna, Fatma and several other long-serving staff as part of our 10-year anniversary celebrations.

It’s hard to believe that we started Assured Home Care almost 10 years ago.
But, when we looked around at the faces that have stood with us through this journey, we were reminded of how far we have come.

Some of our workers have been with us from Day 1 when there were only a handful of staff in the office. Others have joined us along the way to help build the culture that we have today.

It’s no coincidence that our ‘oldest’ employees exemplify the positive spirit, passion and commitment to caring that is so important in this job. And, that so many started their careers with a strong desire to give something back to the community.

Not only do we have a long-standing relationship with each individual, but so do you!

Some of our staff have been providing support to individual families for as long as they have been with Assured. Many of our team have said how much they enjoy the strong bonds they have developed with their clients, not just with the individuals for whom they provide direct care, but with their entire family. As many acknowledge, building relationships with people means that work doesn’t always feel like work.

We thank everyone for their support and loyalty as we look forward to formally celebrating our 10th anniversary in the New Year!

We do have a talented team of support workers here at Assured!

Ken, one of our longest serving employees, is a committed handcrafter who likes to knit in his spare time.
Here’s one of Ken’s wonderful creations that have adorned the Assured Christmas tree!

She recently received the biggest reward of all, however, when long-term client Owen spoke to her clearly for the very first time.

Sarah has been working with Owen for the last 6-7 years; assisting his daily care needs, attending the odd outing here and there and providing occasional respite for the family.

Owen (22) has Spastic Quadriplegia Cerebral Palsy and is mostly non-verbal. Growing up, he attended a special disability program at Hamilton Secondary School (FLATO unit) and now enjoys day options with SCOSA, Monday to Friday, where activities range from cooking and gardening, to fitness and dance and art and craft. Sarah provides personal care support to Owen in the afternoon when he arrives at home.

A special bond

Over the years, Sarah has developed a strong bond with Owen (or ‘Owen MacGowen’ as she has nicknamed him), and with Owen’s entire family.

“We are very lucky. Sarah is a person that we get along with well, and trust,” says Owen’s mother, Carol.

“Sarah is particularly attuned to Owen’s mood and behaviour,” she continues.

“He also has some special needs, particularly when it comes to feeding (administered through peg feeding) but Sarah has had training from Assured Home Care in how to manage this.”

“We feel that it is possible for us to leave Owen in Sarah’s capable hands knowing that he will be well looked after,” says Carol.

“She’s almost like one of the family ”

Laughter and joy

Every afternoon, Owen waits in his chair at the window for Sarah to come for her shift. As soon as he sees her coming up the driveway, he gets very excited and starts making noises.

Owen loves seeing Sarah because she makes him laugh.

“We have a lot of fun together,” says Sarah.

“His Dad, David, puts on some 80’s music and we sing and dance along.”

“Owen thinks it’s hilarious.”

During a recent shift, Sarah received her biggest reward of all.

After dancing around and making Owen laugh hysterically, Sarah was just about to put him into his sling when Owen looked up and clearly said,

‘Thank you, Sarah’.

Sarah was so surprised and overwhelmed that she had tears in her eyes.

“Whilst Owen will often vocalise and make out the occasional word, he has never spoken to me so directly before,” she says.

“It’s been the highlight of my career so far!’

Through the good and the bad

Life doesn’t always go smoothly, however.

Owen recently had a health scare, coming down with pneumonia and having to go into emergency care in hospital.

In her own time, Sarah went to visit Owen in the hospital.

“I was really frightened for him,” she says.

When he saw Sarah, Owen’s eyes lit up and he started smiling and making excited noises.

“It made me feel so special”, says Sarah.

“Like, Wow!” she laughs.

Although, she then found it very hard to leave him as she could see how sad he was.

“His face made this perfect sad emoji face,” she says.

“I really felt for him, and fortunately he recovered well.”

Wouldn’t change a thing

Sarah has been working with Assured Home Care since the company began, “as [employee] No. 38” she laughs.

Whilst Sarah is the first to confess that domestic duties are not her greatest interest, the personal bond and one-to-one relationship that she forms with her clients certainly is.

As a big part of Owen’s adult life, Sarah has got to know him deeply.

“I think Owen is a lovely, smart and kind man,” says Sarah.

“And, I believe he understands a lot more than people would think.”

Sarah continues to feel valued and appreciated for the work that she does with Owen, and others.

“I love my job”, says Sarah.

“I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”