Care: A great career for parents

At Cera, we are fortunate enough to benefit from the knowledge and skills of many parents, both in our internal team and our external community care roles.

This mother’s day, we wanted to address why carer jobs are ideal for those looking to balance both work and family responsibilities.

What transferable skills do parents develop that make them so well-suited to care work?

So why are parents suited to care work? A lot of it comes down to the skills they develop through parenting and running a household which can be directly relevant to a role as a community carer. These include:

• Patience. Caring for anyone often requires a lot of patience. Parents learn patience through the years of raising their children, which perfectly prepares them well for a care work role.
• Empathy. Parents develop strong empathetic skills through supporting their children's emotional needs and helping them work through challenges. The ability to understand others and show compassion is essential to providing outstanding care that supports wellbeing as well as physical needs.
• Time management. Managing children's schedules, household chores, and family responsibilities teaches parents crucial time management. Similarly, we find that working in care also requires you to manage your time well. Whether you are organising schedules, prioritising important tasks, or ensuring all service users' needs are met during a visit; managing your time effectively is vital to caring for our service users.
• Problem-solving. Parents naturally become adept problem-solvers through navigating a journey through parenthood. From resolving conflicts between children, to dealing with unexpected issues like illness or injury. Strong problem-solving skills are key to providing care and support for vulnerable service users and their families.
• Interpersonal skills. Running a family and household requires excellent interpersonal skills, such as communication, conflict resolution, and relationship building. These skills allow parents to effectively connect with, and support a wide range of people, which directly translates into a community carer role.

Overall, the skills and experience that come from parenthood provide an excellent foundation for a career in care. The unique soft skills and life skills they learn make a career in a caring profession a great match for them.

So why might a parent choose a career of care work in the community?

Some of the key benefits of community carer jobs for parents include:

• Flexible work hours. Community carer roles typically allow workers to set their own schedules more than most roles. Parents can choose to work the hours that fit best around when their children have care or when their partner is home to ensure a healthy balance as they support their family.
• Part-time options. Most community care organisations offer both full-time and part-time positions. Part-time roles, which have fewer working hours, are perfect for parents who only want to work while their children are in school or for a day or two on a weekend.
• Work close to home. Community carers usually work with service users who live in their local community. This means parents can work close to home, allowing them to quickly respond if their children need them for any reason. They can also avoid lengthy commutes that take time away from their families.
• Personal rewards. Community care jobs provide the opportunity to help vulnerable people and make a meaningful difference in their lives. For many parents, this can be a rewarding experience that provides a sense of purpose outside of the home and family.

Don’t just take our word for it. Here are real quotes from Cera carers about why they choose to work in care:

Mum of two, Clare, said: “Becoming a Mum is the best thing I’ve ever done, but having something outside of it where I am Clare again is so special too. I love doing a job that feels like I’m making a real difference, and still having the time with the two little people who mean the most to me.”

Mum of one, Laura, “My daughter is my world and having a job that allows me to provide for her and still spend lots of time together gives me such a great work life balance. I would never have had this in the job I worked before (which had a huge commute time!).”

Mum of two, Joanna, “Growing up people always said how kind and caring I was. A friend I met at a toddler group after my second baby inspired me to look into working in care. That was three years ago and I haven’t ever regretted it!”

Mum of three, Denise, “Care gives me a purpose. My children are all a little older and all in school now so I was looking for a job that still gave me time to be Mum, but also get back into working after having so long being a stay-at-home-mum. The fact that no experience was needed and most of the skills I already had were suited to care, meant this felt like the most natural step in the world.”