Renee has a background working in the retail sector. After twenty-three years in retail, she has just landed a role in home care through the Home Care Careers team, working as a personal support care worker at Colbrow Care. Her new job responsibilities include listing to her clients’ wants and needs, preparing meals for them, planning outings or activities they may enjoy, as well as helping with chores around the house. Renee may also be tasked with taking her clients to the shops and assisting them with things they may be needing more support with.
“Working in retail and working with people has its rewards. I enjoy working with people and find that sometimes, they need extra help. So, I thought of home care as the next step towards working closer with people and helping them with their daily lives as opposed to just their retail requests.”
When asked why home care is important, Renee paused. She believes people are happier and more relaxed in the comfort of their own homes, and that the quality of their lives is enhanced significantly through the maintenance of their environments.
“From what I now know, home care is so important. People are generally happier in their homes and can live a higher quality of life by receiving home care.” Renee says.
We asked Renee what qualities make her effective in her role. She attributes her success in this field to her natural skills of being a people person and having a great deal of patience.
“I find people incredibly interesting and love listening to other people’s stories and experiences.”
Renee also says the training modules prior to starting at Colbrow Care have greatly improved her reading and writing skills.
“I’m soft… Slow when I need to be, and I’m patient.”
Renee left her retail job to work in home care because she wanted to connect with people on a deeper level and give back to her community. She enjoys tackling the everyday challenges life has for others, and finds inspiration in making a difference in somebody’s life.
“I’ve always felt that in retail you need some form of a connection with the person you’re going to sell something to. They need to trust you, and trust that you’re going to sell in an honest manner”.
“I just felt like there was more I wanted to do, more to give back to the community, you know? I wanted to feel more satisfied and enable somebody to stay home longer and not need to go to a nursing home just to receive basic care.”
Renee’s commitment to her job and her love for helping people are the qualities that make her a valuable asset to the Colbrow care team. Her passion for making people feel good and satisfied in their own homes is admirable. Her natural skills, along with her training, make her a perfect fit for this industry.
Finally, we asked Renee what advise she had for anybody considering a role or a career in home care.
“Don’t wait as long as I did. I thought about this for years and felt stuck. Initially, I didn’t realise how much support was out there to help walk me through the steps toward such a rewarding career change. I just hope I can inspire somebody else to explore this as an option, because sometimes we have more confidence than we know.”
Learn more about becoming a home care support worker.
Contact the Home Care Careers team to learn more.
