Fee-free individual support course helps Meg find her calling

Meg Bowden’s only regret in completing a TasTAFE Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing) is that she didn’t do it sooner.

After finishing the fee-free course in June 2023, Meg has found work in community aged care with Care Forward in Devonport and feels she has found her calling.

“I think I’m meant to do this,” Meg says.

After losing her dad last year, Meg missed spending time with him and doing things for him.

“I really enjoyed doing things for my dad. He didn’t need me to but I enjoyed it. When he died there was no one older to do things for but I felt like I wanted to keep doing that for others.

“My step daughter was interested in doing the Individual Support course and we thought it would be a really good thing to do together. We didn’t decide to do the course because it was free but that was certainly a bonus.”

Meg has previously worked as a child carer, teacher aide and cleaner so went into the course with plenty of life skills, but says she wanted training for a job where she could help care for people and make their life better.

“The whole learning thing, I wish I’d done it sooner. Once I started, I wanted to learn more. I realised there were a lot more doors to be opened. You can stretch yourself and do something meaningful. I loved the course. I didn’t miss one day.”

Meg also enjoyed the diverse range of people in the class at TasTAFE.

“Everybody has got something important or special to offer. We were all different and at different stages of life and we learnt from each other.”

Meg says another reason why she wanted to do the course was to be an advocate for those who aren’t familiar with the system and support available in aged care.

“You learn about that as part of the TasTAFE course. I want to be a voice for people and connect them with services.”

As a home carer Meg’s work is varied and can include everything from personal care and dressing to social support to meal preparation.

“It’s very satisfying work and it’s great when the consumers are satisfied with the service provided.

“I treat them like I would want my parents to be treated. You definitely do become a part of their life and it’s a very rewarding job.”

Applications for 2024 Fee-Free TasTAFE courses, including Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing) are now open. Visit www.tastafe.tas.edu.au/fee-free to apply or find out more.

Fee-Free TAFE and vocational education is a joint initiative of the Australian and Tasmania Governments, providing tuition-free training places to students wanting to train, retrain or upskill.