Overview
All Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers
-
$1,200 Weekly Pay
-
Moderate Future Growth
-
79,700 workers Employment Size
-
Lower skill Skill level rating
-
38% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
42 hours Average full-time
-
43 years Average age
-
78% female Gender Share
Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers provide assistance, support and direct care to patients in a variety of health, welfare and community settings.
You can work as a Nursing Support or Personal Care Worker without formal qualifications, however, they may be useful. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.
Tasks
- assisting patients with their personal care needs such as showering, dressing and eating
- assisting patients with their mobility and communication needs
- participating in planning the care of individuals
- following therapy plans such as interventions to assist those with dementia and behavioural problems
- observing and reporting changes in patients' condition, and reporting complaints about care
- assisting with rehabilitation exercises, basic treatment and delivering medications
- providing direct support and assistance to therapists
Prospects
There were 79,700 Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers in 2020. The number of workers:
- fell over the past 5 years
- is expected to grow over the next five years
- is likely to reach 85,000 by 2025.
Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, seasonally adjusted data to November 2020 and National Skills Commission Employment Projections to 2025. The number employed includes people who work in this occupation as their main job. People who work in more than one job are counted against the occupation they work the most hours in.
Employment Snapshot
- Size: This is a very large occupation.
- Location: Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: Most work in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry.
- Earnings: Full-time workers on an adult wage earn around $1,200 per week (below the average of $1,460). Earnings tend to be lower when starting out and higher as experience grows.
- Full-time: Less than half work full-time (38%, less than the average of 66%), showing there are many opportunities to work part-time.
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 42 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 43 years (compared to the average of 40 years).
- Gender: 78% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2020 and National Skills Commission Employment Projections to 2025.
Weekly Earnings
Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), May 2018, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Pathways
You can work as a Nursing Support or Personal Care Worker without formal qualifications, however, they may be useful. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Health Industry and Community Services VET training pathways.
Skills & Knowledge
Employers look for Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers who are caring, compassionate, empathetic and physically fit with good people skills.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Philosophy and theology
Philosophical systems and religions, including their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and impact on society.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Medicine and dentistry
Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.
-
Therapy and counselling
Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Sociology and anthropology
Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Transportation
Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.
-
Foreign language
Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Instructing
Teaching people how to do something.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Management of personnel resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.
-
Operation monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
-
Mathematics
Using maths to solve problems.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Arm-hand steadiness
Keep your hand or arm steady.
-
Finger dexterity
Put together small parts with your fingers.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Written expression
Write in a way that people can understand.
-
Brainstorming
Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Far vision
See details that are far away.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Multitasking
Do two or more things at the same time.
-
Manual dexterity
Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Helping and caring for others
Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Handling and moving objects
Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Doing physically active work
Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.
-
Negotiating and resolving conflicts
Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Scheduling work and activities
Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
-
Thinking creatively
Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
-
Checking for errors or defects
Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Estimating amounts, costs and resources
Working out sizes, distances, amounts, time, costs, resources, or materials needed for a task.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 31-1011.00 - Home Health Aides.
Work Environment
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Wear common protective or safety equipment
Wear equipment like safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Lead or coordinate a team
Lead others to do work activities.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Consequence of error
Work where mistakes have serious consequences.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Spend time standing
Spend time standing at work.
-
Health and safety of others
Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.
-
Bending or twisting your body
Spend time bending or twisting your body.
-
Disease or infection
Be exposed to disease or infections.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Responsible for outcomes
Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
-
Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
-
Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.
-
Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
-
Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
-
Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
-
Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
-
Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 31-1011.00 - Home Health Aides.
All Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers
-
$1,200 Weekly Pay
-
Moderate Future Growth
-
79,700 workers Employment Size
-
Lower skill Skill level rating
-
38% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
42 hours Average full-time
-
43 years Average age
-
78% female Gender Share
Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers provide assistance, support and direct care to patients in a variety of health, welfare and community settings.
You can work as a Nursing Support or Personal Care Worker without formal qualifications, however, they may be useful. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.
Tasks
- assisting patients with their personal care needs such as showering, dressing and eating
- assisting patients with their mobility and communication needs
- participating in planning the care of individuals
- following therapy plans such as interventions to assist those with dementia and behavioural problems
- observing and reporting changes in patients' condition, and reporting complaints about care
- assisting with rehabilitation exercises, basic treatment and delivering medications
- providing direct support and assistance to therapists
There were 79,700 Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers in 2020. The number of workers:
- fell over the past 5 years
- is expected to grow over the next five years
- is likely to reach 85,000 by 2025.
Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, seasonally adjusted data to November 2020 and National Skills Commission Employment Projections to 2025. The number employed includes people who work in this occupation as their main job. People who work in more than one job are counted against the occupation they work the most hours in.
Employment Snapshot
- Size: This is a very large occupation.
- Location: Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: Most work in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry.
- Earnings: Full-time workers on an adult wage earn around $1,200 per week (below the average of $1,460). Earnings tend to be lower when starting out and higher as experience grows.
- Full-time: Less than half work full-time (38%, less than the average of 66%), showing there are many opportunities to work part-time.
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 42 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 43 years (compared to the average of 40 years).
- Gender: 78% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2020 and National Skills Commission Employment Projections to 2025.
Weekly Earnings
Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), May 2018, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
You can work as a Nursing Support or Personal Care Worker without formal qualifications, however, they may be useful. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Health Industry and Community Services VET training pathways.
Employers look for Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers who are caring, compassionate, empathetic and physically fit with good people skills.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Philosophy and theology
Philosophical systems and religions, including their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and impact on society.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Medicine and dentistry
Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.
-
Therapy and counselling
Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Sociology and anthropology
Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Transportation
Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.
-
Foreign language
Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Instructing
Teaching people how to do something.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Management of personnel resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.
-
Operation monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
-
Mathematics
Using maths to solve problems.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Arm-hand steadiness
Keep your hand or arm steady.
-
Finger dexterity
Put together small parts with your fingers.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Written expression
Write in a way that people can understand.
-
Brainstorming
Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Far vision
See details that are far away.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Multitasking
Do two or more things at the same time.
-
Manual dexterity
Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Helping and caring for others
Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Handling and moving objects
Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Doing physically active work
Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.
-
Negotiating and resolving conflicts
Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Scheduling work and activities
Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
-
Thinking creatively
Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
-
Checking for errors or defects
Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Estimating amounts, costs and resources
Working out sizes, distances, amounts, time, costs, resources, or materials needed for a task.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 31-1011.00 - Home Health Aides.
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Wear common protective or safety equipment
Wear equipment like safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Lead or coordinate a team
Lead others to do work activities.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Consequence of error
Work where mistakes have serious consequences.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Spend time standing
Spend time standing at work.
-
Health and safety of others
Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.
-
Bending or twisting your body
Spend time bending or twisting your body.
-
Disease or infection
Be exposed to disease or infections.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Responsible for outcomes
Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
-
Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
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Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
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Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.
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Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
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Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
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Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
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Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
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Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 31-1011.00 - Home Health Aides.