FLAIR FOR CARE

UP to 20,000 new jobs are forecast in disability services in Queensland by 2019 but that does not mean workers are guaranteed to walk into a job.

Employers are being selective about the candidates they hire, considering personal values before formal qualifications, to ensure the job match is right.

Workers typically need a Certificate III in Individual Support to work in the disability services sector — although other care qualifica- tions may be considered if workers are willing to upskill — but more important than that is their ability to work well with their customers.

Disability service provider Cara chief executive Liz Cohen says qualifications can be obtained and it offers positions to inexperienced staff.

But most importantly, the values of community support workers must align with those of the organisation, Cohen says.

“Our promise at Cara is ‘we find possible’, so we want ‘possible people’ to join us,” she says.

“We look for people who are open-minded, who think progressively, work well with others and contribute to team success and who can accept feedback and learn.”

Disability services workers must be able to actively listen, including to non-verbal cues, be approachable, mindful, have empathy and respect the choices of customers, she says.

One of its tactics to identify the best staff is to invite people it supports to join its recruitment interview panel. “It gives the applicant an opportunity to interact with Cara’s most important people — our customers,” Cohen says. “It’s vital we get it right.

“The advantage is twofold — our customer gets an understanding of the (person) with whom they’ll be working and the Cara recruitment team can see how the applicant relates to people with disability.”

Community support worker Mia Sarmiento believes it takes more than a piece of paper to be good at the job.

“Caring that comes from the heart connects people like nothing else,” she says.

The National Disability Insurance Agency forecasts Queensland jobs to grow from between 13,550 and 16,550 fulltime equivalent roles to between 29,450 and 35,950 by 2019.