L

I wanted to become a social carer as I feel the role suited my empathetic and caring personality. I always felt drawn to helping those who appeared to be struggling in society. I started a 4 year bachelors degree in social care in Ireland when I was 18 years old and fell in love with the work through my college placements. I spent time assisting young people with both physical and mental disabilities in a school setting. I then went on to complete a second placement in a residential home with teenage boys who were in the care of the state. From receiving a high grade and thoroughly enjoying these two contrasting college placements it confirmed for me why I wanted to become a social care worker and that I was good at the role. Fitness and exercise is something I thoroughly enjoy and aim to complete daily. I enjoy a range of different forms of exercise such as running, strength and conditioning, boxercise and Pilates. I have recently found an interest in mindfulness and yoga. This is something that I have found to work great for my self care which is so important in the field of social care. A skill that I have developed over my time in social care is communication skills which is crucial to this role. I have experience working with a range of different people who require different kinds of communication styles. In particular I have experience in working with people who did not speak the same language as me. Learning how to communicate through body language, hand gestures, pictures, translators etc has allowed me to develop this skill and given me the tools to communicate in creative ways. Crisis prevention/management is another skill in which I have developed over my time in social care. In Ireland I have completed multiple therapeutic crisis management trainings which I had put into practice every day of my work. My crisis prevention skills include building healthy relationships with clients, giving clients tools and support in managing any potential crisis, completing risk assessments within situations which may lead to crisis. My crisis management skills include both emotional/mental health incidents and physical/safety incidents. I graduated from Dublin Technological university in 2020 with a level 8 social care degree. When I graduated I began working with homeless adult men who had fallen into addiction. I worked here for 8 months during the pandemic as this was a covid isolation unit for men with underlying health conditions. I worked daily key working clients and supporting them back into housing and referring clients for addiction treatment. I also worked daily in managing and preventing covid 19 within the service which included carrying out PCR tests on clients. I worked to prevent and manage any incidents within the service as I was appointed shift co ordinator on many of my shifts. I then was transferred to another part of the organisation that were opening a Covid 19 isolation service for under 18s. I worked in this service for another year managing and preventing the spread of covid 19 while also caring for and supporting young people with their mental and physical health. This service then changed its purpose and function to an under 18s residential service for unaccompanied minors. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here and was able to develop skills in communication, behaviour management, social support etc. as our young people were new to Ireland our main role was to support them to integrate into society, enroll them in school, support them to make friends, link them in with community supports and social groups. I became team leader in this service in July 2023 and worked as a team leader until October 2024 when I moved from Ireland to Sydney. My role as team leader allowed me to develop leadership skills. I gained experience in leading my team to develop excellent social care skills while also leading the young people to live a full and happy life. I also gained some management experience as part of my role as team leader, covering my managers sick leave on and off over a period of 5 months. Within my time here I also completed a level 8 certificate in working with people who have ASD. I completed this in 2021. In 2023 I received a level 8 certificate in resilience in social care