Community Services CoursesCommunity Services Courses

Industry outlook

The Health Care and Social Assistance industry is one of Australia’s largest and fastest growing industry in Australia. It is the largest employing sector in Australia employing 1,685,100 (at November 2018) Australian workers.

Over the five years to November 2018, the largest number of new jobs were created in Health care and Social Assistance (up by 297,500). Much of the employment growth in the Australian services sector has been driven by Health Care and Social Assistance. Employment growth is projected to remain strong, with the sector forecast to grow by 14.9%.

Community services has the second largest share (31%) within the industry with a significant rise in job opportunities over the few years. The community services system includes the entire disability system, child protection and family services, youth justice, public housing, homelessness and family violence. With Australia’s growing and ageing population requiring more care, and the roll-out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the employment growth in this sector is expected to continue.

Career outlook

Highly skilled community services professionals are in demand and there are a lot of opportunities in this sector. Community services workers work in a variety of areas such as psychology, rehabilitation and social work. Social workers and community workers are the largest professional group within most of these fields.

You can focus on a variety of areas from aged care to disability. On completion of community services courses, you can also explore career opportunities in other areas without the necessity of having to take any further formal training.

Where do community services workers work?

There is a high demand of job across Australia for community workers. They are employed in several different departments like youth work, counselling, social services, community development, individual support, mental health, disability, aged care, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander services, child protection and family services.

What do community service workers do?

Community services workers advocate for the rights of individuals and communities. They work to address systemic barriers and encourage social and economic inclusion of all citizens.

Community services worker work with individuals, families, social groups or communities in order to promote or restore social functioning. As a community services worker you could see yourself offering your services in a variety of areas. For example, you may be assisting the youth with emotional issues, supervising offenders, working with aged care or disabled people or liaising with communities and welfare agencies in need.

In which industries the community services workers are mostly employed?

The students taking community services courses are mostly employed in Health Care and Social Assistance (46.6%), Education and Training (24.0%) and Accommodation and Food Services (6.2%)

What jobs can a community services worker do?

Community services courses can lead to meaningful job opportunities. Students who undertake community services courses are most often employed as Community and Personal Service Workers (60.8%), Professionals (18.6%) and Clerical and Administrative workers (8.8%).

The median age for workers in this industry is 42 years and median weekly earnings are around $1,000 per week. Here is a list of few job opportunities for students who have completed their community services courses:

There are many study options available to aspiring Community Services workers. Explore one of our community services courses.

Skills and Knowledge

Community services is all about giving back to the community. Community services requires individuals who are passionate about caring and assisting people to improve their lives and help bring the people together.

To excel in this profession, you will need to demonstrate a caring, non-judgmental and positive attitude and be extremely trustworthy. The work can be challenging, exciting and frustrating at times. It requires you to have a strong character and emotional stability. You need to be prepared to cope with inevitable conflict and setbacks. Patience and perseverance are essential.

Here are few desired knowledge and skills for a community services worker:

You may find that most of the skills and experience are transferable to the industry. This can be communication, organisational or caring skills. Community services courses from Kirana Colleges can help you improve these knowledge and skills.