I love my work in the disability sector
"Raising a family has prepared me well to care for others."
Olivia's story
Olivia Bailey (left) started her working life in a Wellsford pharmacy. At 20 she fell pregnant, with her son Jayden, and married her long-term partner not long afterwards. Olivia separated two years later.
Needing family support, Olivia followed her parents and moved to Whangarei. On the Domestic Purposes Benefit, Olivia knew that she needed to find a career path that would fit in with caring for her son.
“I loved being a mum but I felt as though I had lost some of my identity”, Olivia explains. “I had also met someone and knew that we couldn’t live together and still receive the benefit.”
Seeing a notice advertising a Certificate in Community Support Services, Olivia applied and was accepted. The Certificate is offered by a successful Industry Partnership between Ministry of Social Development in conjunction with the Northland District Health Board, Te Tai Tokerau Primary Health Organisation and provider Multiskill. The course was developed to address the skill and labour shortage in the healthcare industry.
Olivia graduated from the programme with a NZQA Certificate in Community Support Services Level 2. “My work experience was at IDEA Services which is an IHC Community Service”, Olivia said. “This work had a huge impact on me and I realised how lucky I was to be able to live independently.”
IDEA Services follows the philosophy that all people with intellectual disabilities have the right to be treated with dignity, have a say in their own lives and live, learn, work and enjoy life as part of the community.
After graduating Olivia met with the management of IDEA Services and expressed her interest in working for the organisation. “I felt my efforts were really appreciated by the people I cared for and I really wanted to work in this area of healthcare.”
Olivia started work within a few days and hasn’t looked back. “For the first time in my life I wake up looking forward to going to work”, Olivia admits. “I am fit and healthy and thrive on being able to give something back to the young people I work with.”
Starting Level 3 in a couple of weeks, Olivia had considered completing the Bachelor of Nursing programme but her journey so far helped her realise where her future career path lay. “For me, I realised that working within the medical environment wasn’t going to give me the skills I needed to progress in the disability sector”, Olivia said. “Rather than fix it and ship them out, my work enables continuous improvement on a daily basis, which provides a high quality of life, and that’s what I am passionate about.”