Section 2: What qualifications and experience do I need?
Voluntary work / work experience
Work experience is a great way of finding out if work in care is right for you, and if you’re right for care. It can:
- Give you valuable experience
- Develop your skills and knowledge
- Support your application forms and interviews in the future
- Help you network with people in the sector
- Even lead to permanent employment
- Some people gain work experience through school or college courses but this is often not enough and it can be useful to do some relevant voluntary work – this helps you build your experience, knowledge and skills.
- Most employers will ask for relevant experience – this is particularly important for jobs you can do straightaway without a degree. Some degrees (such as social work) will also expect you to have relevant work experience.
- Doing voluntary work whilst studying on e.g. a degree programme is really advisable and can enhance your employability considerably.
Useful links
Links to sites where you can find voluntary roles are listed below. Each Local Authority also has a volunteer bureau or volunteer schemes you can join.
