Since I've returned to work this year I've discovered that a lot of wins have been made and more and more people are starting jobs or progressing further in the disability and community care sector.

I was really pleased to recently hear the news that a student trainee I interviewed last year, for a student traineeship case study, has continued on with the organisation and is now a staff member.

Seventeen year old Brodie (pictured) was part of Valmar Support Service’s school-based traineeship pilot program, which commenced in early 2009. As part of her experience Brodie worked at Valmar in Tumut one day a week and also completed a Certificate III in Disability Work through TAFE. She was also completing her Higher School Certificate at the same time.

A few years on Brodie is now working in Valmar's supported accommodation program and studying for a Certificate IV in Allied Health. Valmar have also continued with the traineeship program.

It just goes to show that programs like this really do work. Brodie is really happy with the outcome and so is Valmar - they have an enthusiastic and committed young staff member ready to make the disability sector the place she develops her career.

For more information about the traineeship and Brodie read the case study.

We'd like to introduce Damien Quinn, a Talent Advisor and guest writer for this blog. In this post he writes about his early realisation that a career in the disability and community care sector could be extremely rewarding.

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was a young, shy 17 year old boy about to embark on a journey of personal growth. Through a combined initiative of Sony and my high school, Year 11 students were given the responsibility of being a 24 hour carer to a child with a severe disability to provide some much needed respite for the child’s families and carers.

Reflecting back on that period, it was a life changing experience. Along with the other students, I certainly established a strong connection in a short period of time with the child I was working with. Over 4 days, I was pushed mentally and physically but it was very rewarding.  It certainly made me appreciate the support families need. I would thoroughly recommend the role as a career path.

For those who enjoy working with people, a career in the disability and community care sector is satisfying on both a personal and professional level. The sector offers a fresh start for those looking for a greater challenge or a change of scenery, a return to work after a career break or for those looking for more flexibility in their careers.

The disability and community care sector is the second fastest growing industry over the last 5 years. It is predicted that the proportion of Australians aged over 65 will double in the next 50 years. Additionally, 20% of Australia’s current population live with a disability. These statistics highlight the employment prospects available in the sector and the pressing need to provide appropriate services to meet this demographic.

With disability and community care services based all across Australia, in metropolitan, rural or remote areas, the opportunities are endless.

Whatever your role within the disability and community care sector – frontline, administration or board level – your work will impact on much more than a balance sheet.

There are many rewards and benefits, including:

1. Work-life balance: Whether you're returning to or starting in the sector on a Part Time basis, combining your work with caring for others at home or easing into retirement, you can work shifts that suit you
2. Salary packaging: Australian taxation law allows certain organisations to offer salary packaging benefits to their employees which helps you to make significant income tax savings on your salary
3. Find your perfect position: With roles available from entry level through to senior management, there is plenty of scope to find your niche in the sector
4. Development: The sector understands the importance of helping people reach their potential, and you will be encouraged to develop your career
5. Job variety: It may sound like a cliché, but in this sector no two days are ever the same and you’ll develop skills in many diverse areas
6. Challenging: The work you do will stretch and develop all of your abilities - from organisational skills to creative problem solving
7. Cultural fit: Work in the sector is valued and valuable, allowing you to align your career with your personal values and to work with like-minded people
8. Hobbies and interests: The things that inspire you may be the things that will inspire your clients
9. Location: The sector provides many opportunities to work within close proximity to your home
10. Impact: One of the most rewarding aspects of a career within the sector is the potential to use your skills and passions to build meaningful relationships with people that contribute as much to your life as you do theirs - the work you do will make someone's day and not many jobs can promise you that

Not sure if the sector is for you or what role would suit you? Complete our fun career quiz to find out, or search for jobs in the NSW disability and community care sector.

Well, the thousands of squats, lunges, push ups and walking expeditions may have paid off for the killer 7 day trek up Mt Fansipan, in what was some of the worst conditions they had had in months (including torrential rain and thick fog), however nothing could have prepared me for what I was to experience at the Thuy An Disability Centre, which is 1.5 hours out of Hanoi in Vietnam...but I guess that’s why they call it the Vietnam Challenge!

Take a look at some of my photos from the trek and our visit to the Centre.

I signed up for the fundraising Challenge in late 2009 thinking I had a year to physically prepare my body for the intense mountain climb, and that the second half of the Challenge - volunteering at a disability centre in a remote village - would be a breeze, considering I work in the disability sector and have hands on experience with people who have all levels of disabilities.

From the time I arrived at the Thuy An Disability Centre I was continuously flooded with emotions. My heart was drawn immediately to the children who had the more severe disabilities. One child in particular stole my heart, Leanne, who is just one of over 100 children who live permanently at the Centre.

Through the beautiful smiles and laughter were innocent children who wanted to learn, be challenged, be hugged, be loved, and cared for. No doubt the carers at the Centre were doing a marvellous job, however they are grossly under-staffed, and ashamedly under-resourced.

Myself and the 10 other volunteers that participated in the Challenge (and raised money to get there) spent most of our days teaching the Centre's staff about new therapeutic exercises that could be used for the children with physical disabilities. Unfortunately for these children, their day only comprises of meal times and physical therapy - no means of education, not even drawing, colouring-in, painting, or playing with toys. This is probably what devastated me the most.

We did our best to share the knowledge we have, and we have plans to send over some new equipment, but what we wish we could really send is love, hugs, time to laugh and play, and adequate levels of staffing. I guess it just reflected how wonderful my job is and I can’t wait to go back over again sometime soon.

Since I’ve been back in Australia, 2011 has kicked off to a flying start; planning programs, organising outings for our clients, my university enrolment, blogging for carecareers.com.au, and even the opportunity to be involved in some upcoming media events for the carecareers campaign.

It’s going to be a pretty exciting year, with different goals and a different focus in my role at Cerebral Palsy Alliance. I will soon be a trained Life Needs Link Worker which will mean that, after an intense training course, I will begin looking at each client’s life with a more holistic, proactive and lifespan approach. My career always manages to keep me on my toes, allowing me to experience new and exciting challenges. :)

'Supporting young people to develop and maintain life and vocational skills, and providing school leavers with a pathway to having a valued role in community life' - now this sounded like a job with meaning. I remember reading an advertisement in the local paper with similar words and wondering if I should apply.

Having just finished university I thought to myself, would they even consider me for the position given I was just a few years older than the young people who would be entering the program? With my only experience being part time work as a support teacher in a local preschool and assisting two young children with autism to participate in a mainstream program, I convinced myself that the skills I had developed were transferable. I had nothing to lose.

A few days after the interview I received a call to say I was successful in gaining the position of a Transition to Work Mentor for Lifestyle Solutions. It was a brand new program for school leavers with disability, and I would be working with the Program Coordinator to ‘get these young people work’.

My first year in the disability sector went so quickly. I learnt welding at TAFE with a young man, shadowed as a kitchen hand at a local bistro, washed hundreds of cars at the local used car dealership alongside an avid car lover, met a young woman for lunch once a week  to support her in developing friendships with other people doing her university course, and facilitated work readiness and interviewing skills workshops with a small group of participants - and it didn’t stop there!

Twelve young people commenced in the program that year and I was the key worker for six of them. We would meet once a week to gauge where we were all at, how far we had come and whether we were heading in the right direction. This was called ‘individual planning’.

Supporting people made sense to me. I was like that person in the background whispering words of encouragement, making connections and opening doors for these young people to help them find their place, to find what they were good at and where their strengths lay.

I enjoyed my work. The not for profit organisation I was employed by had only been operating for a couple of years, the people were nice and I felt a sense of connection to them and the organisation. The following year we had more young people wanting to enter the program and I was asked to step into a leadership role, to coordinate the Transition to Work program.

I could write pages and pages about my next few years in the sector, the twists and turns, the highs and lows. Basically, those years were about supporting more people, meeting new people and chatting with them about what their dream job would be, what mattered most to them, and how my team and I could support them in getting where they wanted to be.

It’s almost 6 years on and I now lead a team who support over 200 people living with disability in New South Wales. I am a member of the Lifestyle Solutions’ National Leadership Team and I am in a position where I can help shape the future of my organisation, contribute to the development of strategies and new ways of thinking about supporting people.

Having completed an Associate Degree in Law, a Bachelor of Social Science, a Master of Human Services Management, and now working towards the completion of a Graduate Bachelor of Law, I am someone who always wants to be moving forward and taking on new challenges.

This industry has given me the opportunity to discover and develop my strengths as a leader and as a professional. With the skills, knowledge and experience I have gained so far I am well placed to continue to be an effective leader within the sector. I have chosen the human services industry as a career and I will continue to open many new doors as the opportunities arise.

I also encourage others to consider this sector as a path that can meet your career aspirations. With so many diverse roles available, there is a place for everyone. And with the industry becoming more professionalised, career prospects are widening and organisations are looking for the right people to train, mentor and lead the way for the future.

The words ‘success’ and ‘extraordinary’ have always held a common theme throughout the dreams and aspirations I have envisioned for my future. I look forward to each and every step of the way that lies ahead.   

Please make a comment! I'd encourage you to make a comment below. It would be great to hear about your career aspirations.