Thinking of Working in Care? Here's What You Need to Get Started

One of the questions we hear most from people thinking about care work is whether they need experience first. Most people who join Routes don't, and that's alright, because the story doesn't start on a CV. What matters is what happens once someone opens their front door to you.

Do you need care experience?

No. People join Routes from all kinds of places: shops, kitchens, factory floors, or a long break from work altogether. What matters isn't a CV full of care roles, it's patience, warmth, and a want to be there for someone who needs them. That's the part we look for first, because it can't really be taught. Everything else comes through training, starting with the Care Certificate alongside medication awareness, safeguarding, and moving and handling, taken properly rather than rushed through as a formality.

For complex care roles, training goes further still, built around the specific person you'll be getting to know and support.

What you do need

A few things matter more than a background in care:

• The right to work in the UK
• A clear enhanced DBS check
• Reliable transport, for most home care roles, since you'll be visiting people where they actually live
• Patience, and a willingness to listen

None of this is unusual. Any care provider worth its name asks for the same, because it keeps the people you're caring for safe.

What happens once you're in

You won't be left to work it out alone. Training comes first, then shifts alongside someone experienced, then the confidence to go it alone once you and your coordinator both know you're ready. Plenty of people who started here with no care background at all are now senior carers, coordinators, and more. That happens here regularly.

Whatever stage you're at, roles near you are worth a look.