Training / for Caregiver / in

Job type                              recognised occupation requiring formal training
Training type                      vocational schools (nationwide uniformly regulated)
Duration of traning            3 years
Training sites                     vocational school and elderly care facility

What do you do in this job?

Caregivers care for, support and advise the dependent elderly. They assist them in activities of daily living, such as personal hygiene, eating or clothing. They talk to them about personal matters, motivate them to be more active and accompany them with administrative formalities or doctor visits. In outpatient care, caregivers also work with family members and instruct them in care techniques. In treatment care and rehabilitation they do therapeutic and medical and nursing tasks, e.g. change bandages, bathing and administer medications prescribed by a doctor.

 Where do you work

Employment establishments:
Caregivers are employed in
   • in elderly and nursing homes
   • in short-term care facilities with nursing care
   • in-patient geriatric care and elderly care services
   • in geriatric and gerontological psychiatric departments of hospitals
   • in care and rehabilitation clinics

Workplaces:
Caregivers work primarily
   • in patients' rooms, treatment rooms or washrooms
   • in group rooms and lounges
   • in meeting rooms and offices

In addition, they work if necessary,
   • outdoors (on walks with nursing home residents or patients)
   • in the patient apartments (for outpatient care)

Which degree is required?

A medium level of education is generally required. The vocational schools select the applicants after their own criteria.

What is important?

Requirements:
   • care and sense of responsibility (e.g. the exact observance of care measures or in their documentation)
   • good physical fitness (e.g. for the transfer of patients)
   • empathy (e.g. in dealing with patients and relatives)
   • Emotional stability (e.g. in dealing with very sick or dying patients)

School subjects:
   • social science (e.g. understanding contexts of the social system)
   • religious education / ethics (e.g. understanding of ethical principles in important care issues)
   • German (e.g. for the creation of care protocols)
   • economics (e.g. understanding legal principles and for a an economic framework)
   • mathematics (e.g. for billing of nursing care services)

What you earn in the training?

On public sector institutions or bodies of carriers, are using the collective agreements of the public service, apprentices earn (monthly gross):
   • 1st year of training: € 956
   • 2nd year: € 1,017
   • 3rd year: € 1,118

Source: BERUFENET (http://arbeitsagentur.de) - Date: 12.01.2014