Home care and community care services across Ireland need carers who can support older people with dignity and skill. If you want to start working in care quickly, CMIT’s QQI Care Skills course gives you two QQI Level 5 awards in just 12 weeks.
These are the qualifications many home care employers ask for, and they also count towards the full QQI Level 5 Major Award in Healthcare Support, so you can keep building your career later.
Who this course is for
- People starting out as home care assistants or community care workers, with or without previous experience
- Carers already working in home care who need a recognised Irish qualification, including carers whose qualifications from abroad aren’t recognised by employers here
- Anyone planning a longer healthcare career who wants a quick first step towards the full Healthcare Support award
To enrol, you need a Leaving Certificate, a Level 4 award or equivalent, or relevant life or work experience. You also need to live in Ireland and have a PPS number.
What you will learn
Part 1: Care Skills (5N2770)
- Understanding care needs: the needs of people receiving care, the principles of care, and the National Standards for Care
- Intimate care: help with eating and drinking, oral and skin care, dressing, using the toilet, and bathing
- Hygiene and safe use of care equipment: hand hygiene, moving and transferring people safely, and measuring temperature and pulse
Part 2: Care of the Older Person (5N2706)
- The needs of older people: ageing in Ireland, attitudes to ageing, and care planning
- Working in healthcare: the Irish health service, the healthcare assistant’s role, advocacy, and safeguarding vulnerable adults
- Care in specific situations: dementia and cognitive impairment, physical needs, and palliative care
Practical, work-based assessment
Most of your marks come from work-based skills demonstrations (60% of each module), so you show your skills in a real care setting. If you aren’t already working in a registered healthcare or home care setting, you complete 20 hours of work experience, where a manager or supervisor observes your care skills.
You study online at your own pace, with 24/7 access to course manuals, videos, quizzes and live webinars, and personal feedback from your tutor within 5 working days of each submission.
Course details at a glance
| Awards | QQI Level 5 component certificates in Care Skills (5N2770) and Care of the Older Person (5N2706), worth 15 credits each |
| Length | 12 weeks, starting any time of year |
| Study time | About 25 hours a week, including work experience, study and assessments |
| Work experience | 20 hours, if you aren’t already working in a registered healthcare or home care setting |
| Assessment | An assignment, a project, and two work-based skills demonstrations |
| Fee | €425 or 3 interest-free payments with Klarna |
Your next step: the full Healthcare Support award
Both certificates count as credit towards the QQI Level 5 Major Award in Healthcare Support (5M4339), the full qualification for healthcare assistants working in hospitals and nursing homes. Contact us to find out how your credits carry over.
Enrol today
Enrol on the QQI Care Skills and Care of the Older Person bundle and start straight away. Questions? Call us on 01 286 5783 or email info@cmit.ie.
Why study with CMIT? Our care skills course online leads to two nationally recognised QQI Level 5 awards, Care Skills and Care of the Older Person, which also count towards the full Healthcare Support award. A qualified healthcare tutor supports you throughout, giving personal feedback within 5 working days of each submission. You can enrol at any time of year, start straight away, and complete both awards in 12 weeks around your shifts and family. Our course content covers the real skills home care employers look for, from intimate care to dementia care. CMIT was named Best Further Education Provider at The Education Awards 2018, and our learners rate this bundle 5 out of 5.