A young leader’s ambitions – from school to aged care

In just four years, Shayaan Irani has gone from completing high school to training home care workers and lining herself up for a team leader role in the new year.

The 21-year-old works as a Care Aid for Silverchain in Perth and has big hopes for her career in the aged care sector.

She also hopes aged care providers can build on the support given to younger people to attract more of them to fill the workforce and take on management roles, following a path much like her own.

The path to caring

Ms Irani’s passion for care ignited when she was chosen at the age of 14 for a rare placement opportunity in a mental health facility.

“I went there and got thrown straight into it and I fell in love with it,” she said.

“I made sure that every decision I made after that would get me into a really good job.”

Deciding to go into aged care after school made sense to Ms Irani because she saw it as a “stepping stone into healthcare” as it gives workers the relationship building and communication skills needed to provide quality care.

“One thing that really helped me with getting into aged care was that I actually got to build relationships with my clients. It’s not like a hospital or a residential facility where you’re with them for 15 minutes a day,” she explained.

“You have a relationship with them, they trust you, they talk to you, they’ll communicate with you and I feel like that’s not expressed enough when people talk about aged care.”

If schools and aged care providers can show young people that a career in the aged care industry is about more than helping older people with personal care, Ms Irani believes more young leaders will join aged care services.

“I feel like with aged care there’s a really big stigma because people think you’re just showering people, but it’s more than that because there’s different levels of care,” she said.

“Schools need to be more educated in the sense that it’s not just one thing you’re doing.”

Strengthening the workforce

Having more young leaders in the sector will strengthen the high quality care provided, Ms Irani said, because they will bring a different perspective and skill set to the workforce.

Younger workers that are attracted to stay in the sector by being supported to develop and take on leadership opportunities will also have more of an impact on the sustainability of the future of the workforce.

The support from managers and team leaders is something Ms Irani feels is needed more for younger people in aged care, who may feel there is a barrier to communicating that they want to move up in the ranks.

She said that barriers to talking to figures with more authority could be impacting potential young leaders.

“I feel like the younger people we get are a bit scared of saying, ‘I’m doing really well in my job I’d like to move up’,” Ms Irani said.

“I think I’m quite fortunate because I have a good rapport with my team leaders so they’ve really looked out for me and they’ve helped me pursue [management] quite quickly in my career.”

Taking every opportunity

Since starting with Silverchain in 2019, Ms Irani has progressed as an independent home care worker and this year was given the opportunity by her Care Team Leader to train other workers and show them the ropes.

She estimates she has trained 15 workers throughout the year, showing them all the basics from medication safety to communicating with clients.

The top tips for success she has for other young people are based on her experience as a trainer:

1. Practice perseverance
2. Take the rough with the smooth, as not every day is going to be a good day
3. Step out of your comfort zone and take every opportunity

Taking every opportunity, in particular, is Ms Irani’s way of climbing the ladder.

She has always had a focus on upskilling and is not only looking to become a Care Team Leader next year but also studying nursing part-time, so she can continue to gain experience at work while gaining qualifications.

The more “skills under the belt” the better, is the mantra Ms Irani lives by and the takeaway message she wants all young people to receive.

Providers also have a number of things they should be implementing to support young leaders into the aged care workforce:

• Schools need to be spreading the message that a career in the aged care industry is about more than showering older people, so they can educate potential future aged care workers
• Providers should engage with local schools through work experience opportunities to show young people that aged care workers benefit from building  relationships with the clients, who trust and communicate with carers
• Ensure young people are supported to develop and take on leadership opportunities
• Give young people opportunities to upskill, which will strengthen the workforce

A good starting point for discovering more workers like Ms Irani is asking young people working in your organisation what they would do to attract more of their peers into a career in aged care. Young leaders you already employ may in fact surprise you.

How does your organisation support young people to become leaders? Tell us in the comments below.