Here is the list of the proposed changes:

1.  Eliminate the requirement for a second medical examination when applying for permanent residency.

Also known as the Juana Tajeda law,  this law has came about when live in caregiver Juana Tajeda was applying for  permanent residency and was denied because of her cancer.  Her illness has developed while already  working in Canada.  Her application was first denied but later on approved only due to humanitarian and compassionate grounds.  This change will ensure that no one will undergo that painful experience again.

2.  Live In Caregivers who work overtime can now apply for residency sooner.

Current Situation: Live In Caregivers must work for two whole years of their three years stay before they can apply for residency.  This means that unplanned events such as pregnancies or lost of employment can affect this requirement since they won’t be able to work for two straight years.

Proposed Change: Live In Caregivers can now apply for residency after completing 3,900 work hours or working from Mondays-Fridays for eight hours.  So if they render overtime work then these hours will be counted.  Also, these changes would also increase the time that live-in caregivers are allowed to complete the work requirement from three to four years.

3.  Additional benefits will be given as stipulated in the contract.

The proposal also specifies the following to be paid by the employer:

- fare that the live in caregiver will need to come to Canada

- medical insurance until the live in caregiver is entitled for provincial health coverage

- workplace safety insurance

- any recruiting fees owed to third parties

These all have to be stipulated in the contract.  Also, the contract must include clauses about the work scope and duties, hours of work, overtime and holidays, leaves and termination and resignation terms.

4. CIC will set up a hotline for live in caregivers.  Also, study permits are no longer need by live in caregivers if the course they will be taking is shorter than six months.

These proposed changes have already been published at the Canada Gazette for a 30-day comment period open for all Canadians.

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Good News to All Live-In Caregivers in Canada!

STEP 1: Get Yourself a Training Certificate

The only way for your application for a caregiver job to get noticed is to have a Caregiver Training Certificate from a registered Training Provider.  This will usually last from 6 months (lecture) to 7 mos (with OJT).  Check first with The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or TESDA, the government agency that regulates skills development in the Philippines, if the training center you are eyeing is registered with them.  If not, steer clear because the training certificate they will be issuing you won’t be accepted in the Canadian Embassy.

STEP 2: Have Yourself Assessed

Literally millions of people are applying for a Caregiver job in Canada right this minute and a training certificate is just the first step for you to get noticed.  To make you more qualified, you should get yourself assessed.  An Assessment is a written and practical exam wherein your knowledge and skills in Caregiver techniques will be gauged.  A National Certificate will be issued to you after you passed both exams.  This will serve as your license.   Again, TESDA is the government agency in charge of this testing and certification.

STEP 3:  Have Your Papers Authenticated

Because a lot of fly by night schools are emerging in the country today, the Canadian Embassy has required all documents to be autheticated by the government agency in charge of giving the certificates.  So to have this done, go the the nearest TESDA.  Submit your training certificate, transcript of records and copy of the special order number they issued your school to have your papers verified and authenticated.  TESDA will then pass the authentication certificate to DFA to have your papers blue ribboned, another requirement by the Canadian Embassy.

Sometimes to really check if TESDA really issued the Authentication, the Canadian Embassy will write to them verify if the papers are really from them.  That is how strict the Canadian Embassy is.  So don’t think you can take the short way and just buy a training certificate which is being sold in some areas in Manila.  Getting caught will instantly ban you from entering Canada for a long time.

STEP 4: Network

Now that you have everything in order, it’s time to network!  Put yourself out there so you can find the nest caregiver job suited for you.  Tell everybody who can help you that you are looking for a caregiver job and you have everything in order and in time someone will point you in the right direction.  You will land your caregiver job in no time!

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How to Get a Job as Caregiver in Canada

Fly By Night Schools

Since the Canadian and US Embassy have mandated that caregivers entering their territories have a diploma to show that they are professionals,  Caregiver Schools have prolifirated everywhere around the globe.  Unfortunately, most of them are fly by night schools just taking advantage of people.  A fly by night school is a school that has no proper permit to operate and once they are policed by the proper government agency governing them they will simply just pack up their bags and transfer to another location so that they can avoid registering their programs.

Why are fly by night schools dangerous?

1.  The diploma you will get from these schools will not be honored by the US and Canadian Embassy.  So that is not just wasted money but also time and effort.

2.  They don’t teach the proper skills thus if ever you get to Canada or US under a different visa and managed to find work there, you may be putting your charges at risk since you don’t really know the proper procedure of care and operations of household equipment

So how can you avoid getting duped by this fly by night caregiver schools?  Always ask for their Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA -for Philippines) Registration Permit before enrolling.  But since permits can also be faked,  you may also call the TESDA office that has jurisdiction over the school you are eyeing and ask for the program registration number of the school.

Illegal Caregiver and Nanny Recruiters

A lot of people are now claiming that they have relatives in Canada or in the US and that they can sneek a caregiver aspirant into the country by pretending that their relatives will hire them so that they say be issued a work visa.  But once in Canada, the person must look for a real employer.  In order to avail of this privilege,  one must pay the relative of this “employer” in Canada a hefty amount ranging from P40,000-P100,000.  Since a direct caregiver employer is hard to find, a lot of people are biting into this scam.  But that’s what it is just is, a scam.  So never get duped by this modus.  Think of it this way:  if they can really do that, why are they not starting with their own relatives, right?  But if you take this risk anyway, you should at least see an LMO from the prospective employer before handing your money.

Illegal  Recruiters or Agencies

These are agencies that have no permit from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA).  Before an agency can send people abroad, they must first get accreditation from POEA.  Upon registration, that’s the time that they can use the work order they have from their partners abroad.  To avoid being duped by agencies who have no legal papers, check POEA’s listings.

And before you pay any fees, you MUST see the LMO  from the prospective employer.

If they have accreditation they should be on the list.  Also, be weary of agencies that ask for fees since the policy nowadays is that your placement fee will be paid through salary deduction.  It is now illegal in Canada  for any recruiters or placement agencies to collect recruitment fees.

Additional info:

http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/philippines/visas/working-travailler.aspx?lang=eng

http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/article/713441

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Scams Caregiver Aspirants Should be Aware Of

1.  Live-In Caregiver

Being a Live-In Caregiver means that you will be living with your employer or in Nursing Homes and may be expected to do also some household chores like doing the laundry, ironing clothes, cooking and dish washing so be sure to know how to operate hi-tech gadgets that will be used to perform these duties.  Also, you may be assigned to take care either of a child, an elderly or a person with disability.  Be sure to ask what kind of person you will take care of to further prepare for the job.

2.  Non-medical Caregiver  / Hospice Caring

This is the term being used for Caregivers based in the hospitals  or homes.  They are like nurses who take care of different people.  Unlike Live-In Caregivers,  they have limited interaction with their patients since they take care of a lot of different people.

These caregivers comprehensive assistant to patients and or elderly, ill or terminally ill patience  who wish to live independently.   You provide nursing assistant, companionship and may run errands.

3.  Housekeeper

In this line of work, you are specifically tasked to do just housework.  Again, because of the increasing popularity of this Caregiver job description, there is now a curriculum being honed specifically for that.  But for the meantime, there is a portion in the curriculum of Caregiving that tackles housekeeping.  This teaches prospective Caregivers how to use the gadgets specifically found abroad and how to perform the task well.  It also teaches Caregiver students how to sanitize their surrounding to really keep the place of work clean and germ free.

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Different Kinds of Caregivers In Canada

1.  Get a Hobby

A caregiver job is a job that will not give you a lot of free time so when you do have your break make sure that you do something that you will really enjoy.    Finding something that you enjoy and may eventually become passionate about can help pass time and eventually ease your boredom and home sickness.  Treat this also as a learning experience, a platform that will teach you something new.

2.  Get Around

Visiting places and seeing something new every once in a while will help in easing your home sickness.  New experiences and places will help you enjoy your stay more in a foreign land and make you forget your loneliness.  Remember, not everybody gets  a chance to visit  and in your case live in a a foreign land.  It is time for you to take advantage of that blessing.

3.  Get Acquainted

Try to meet different people of different culture and you will find yourself appreciating your situation more.  Being exposed to different nationalities can be lots of fun.  It’ll be like a daily adventure.  The United States  and Canada is a melting pot of different nationalities and personalities.  If you don’t have a family back home, you may even find the love of your life here.  So don’t hide in your routine and inside your employer’s home.

4.  Connect with the Community

As they say, Filipinos can be found everywhere in the world especially in the United States and Canada.  So be sure to join the Filipino Community nearest you.  Connecting with fellow Filipinos will help make you feel that you are back home especially when you do Filipino traditions together like goiing to Sunday Mass or having a Filipino style picnic which feature Filipino dishes.  Being around your kababayans will definetely be the cure for home sickness you are looking for!

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Caregiver Health and Blues

Patience

A caregiver job entails a lot of patience since you will be dealing with children, the elderly or the sick.  It takes a very special person to really understand the special circumstances needed in this job.  If you have a very short temper then the caregiver profession is not for you.  It will just leave you frustrated as time went on.

Hardworking

A lazy person will not be a succesful in this field of profession.  A caregiver is always at his or her feet doing everything he or she can for the patients under their care.  Laziness will most probably result in negligence and this will most likely put you in jail or get you sued.

Cleanliness

Employers are looking for people that can take care of themselves.  After all, how will you take care of others if you can’t take care of yourself right?  So be sure to be always clean and presentable in the job especially when you are still just applying for a caregiver post.

Trustworthy

People will be entrusting the lives of their loved ones in the hands of the caregivers and of course with it will be possessions so it’s natural that they will be looking for people who will not rip them off.  It is hard enough to have some stranger live with you but someone who has the tendency to steal is enough to make you run for the hills.

Caring

Probably the most important trait of all.  It is one of the profession’s root word after all.  Being a caregiver is not just a job.  It is something where you put your heart and soul in.  In order for caregivers to be effective, they need to give their 100% .    This is actually one of the reasons why a lot of countries opt to get Filipinos as caregivers for their loved ones.  They are sure that they loved ones will be cared of by not just anybody but by a “family member.”

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Traits Employers Look For in a Caregiver

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If you are searching for a job as a caregiver, nanny or mothers’ helper, you have a special challenge ahead of you with writing your resume. Drafting a resume for a caregiver is vastly different from writing a resume for any other type of job. The skilled caregiver must be able to convey the unique skills that are required to work as a caregiver in a concise manner in order to catch the attention of those who are seeking quality care for their loved ones.

Here are some helpful resume writing tips that should help you with writing an effective resume which will increase your chances of landing a great job in the caregiver industry.

Caregiver Skills

Highlight your top three or four skills as a caregiver.

Along the top of your resume, under your name and contact information, list your top three or four skills that relate to being a caregiver. Organizations and private clients that hire caregivers are looking for skills like: having compassion, being an effective communicator, dedication to the profession and dependability. Be sure to list these out prominently in an easy-to-read bulleted list.  You want the person making the hiring decisions to get the best first impression of you.

Include your professional caregiver experience for the last ten years.

Along with your top skills, you will want to include a listing of your most recent caregiver jobs in chronological order for the last ten years only. Be sure to include the name of the agency or family you worked for, the type of patients you cared for and the general duties you had while employed. Highlight any memorable achievements you had during the course of your work experience.

License and Training

Include your educational level or license information.

If you have received special training, degrees or licensure as part of your caregiver career, be sure to include a brief description of this on your resume. Make sure to list the name of the university or organization where you earned this credential, the date and state where you earned it and any specialized training you received. Many caregiver jobs require this so you should be prepared to demonstrate this when you interview.

If you are coming from the Philippines, you need your tesda training certificates.

Show Your Qualities on Paper

You’ve heard it before; first impression is important.  Present yourself properly and you will have a better chance at getting that job.

Your resume should include references, photos and additional information about you for the best results.

Along with the caregiver roles you’ve held, be ready and willing to provide a short list of references from previous clients or agencies you’ve worked for in the past. If you are building an online resume or profile, you may also want to include a nice color photo of yourself that would appeal to those looking for someone to care for a family member.

Please avoid using black and white photos, passport id photos and anything suggestive that your boyfriend or husband would like; remember to keep it professional and caring looking but happy.  Use natural makeup to enhance your look without suggesting you’ve spent much of your time on yourself.

Searching for a new job as a caregiver can be an exciting time so be sure to keep a positive attitude and be persistent when conducting your job search. Put your best foot forward with a professionally written resume and a clean appearance. To give you further support with creating a workable caregiver resume, here is a sample resume you can copy.

Click here for resume sample

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Resume Writing Guidance for the Caregiver

After six months of grueling training and taking that assessment to be certified, you are now ready to search for that Caregiver job.  But where to start?  Here are some starting points.

1.  Ask a relative

A lot of Filipinos have relatives in the US and Canada and the 1st step one job hunter can do is to ask his or her relatives for leads.  It is not uncommon for relatives in this area to know of Caregiver job vacancies  since a lot of Filipinos have established their own nursing homes there.  It is also not uncommon to have your relatives in the US and Canada employ you themselves.  This is actually the easiest route on becoming a Caregiver in these countries.

2.  Search the Internet

The second way is for you to make use of the big directory known as the World Wide Web.  Just google Caregiver jobs and millions of results will be available.  Of course it is your responsibility to verify if these vacancies are valid.  It is very important to do a background check before sending all your credentials and other pertinent information.

3.  Go to POEA

POEA stands for the Philippine Overseas and Employment Agency. This is the government agency in chage of registering international employment agencies in the country.  Supplying manpower is a very lucrative business and a lot of fly by night companies have mushroomed.  It is therefore very important to check if the agency you will be transacting with have the necessary documents and permits to operate such delacate business.

Going to POEA would also save you time in looking for other potential agencies since they can supply you with a list of agencies looking for Caregivers.  It is just a matter of choosing now what agency you want to go to first.  Another thing, be wary also of agencies asking for a large sum of money in order for your documents to be processed.

Check with POEA if the amount they are asking is really necessary for the transaction since most agencies nowadays can deploy you even without a money down.  What they do is to just deduct your expenses and other fees from your salary once you start working as a Caregiver.

Check our forum for more info.

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Where to Look for that Caregiver Job

1.  Training Certificate

The first thing an applicant must have is a training certificate from a registered Caregiver School.  To obtain this,  one must enrol and study the basics and fundamentals of caregiving.  Be sure to check with the Technical education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) office nearest you to be sure of the authenticity of their registration certificate.  This registration certificate is proof that they are authorize to train people to become Caregivers and that the training they are giving is of standard.

2.  National Certification

After the Caregiver training, trainees are required to take the Caregiver assessment, also being given by TESDA, to so that they may be Certified Caregivers.  This National Certificate will serve as a license for perspective Caregivers.

After obtaining these papers,  applicants must have their papers authenticated by TESDA.  This Certification, Authentication and Verification (CAV) is the document needed by the Department of Foreign Affairs to give prospective Caregiver workers the Red Ribbon Document.  To apply for CAV, just go to the TESDA governing your school (If you studied in NCR then go to TESDA NCR; if you studied in Pampanga then go to TESDA Pampanga.) and present the following supporting documents:

• transcript of records (original and certified true copy by the school)
• diploma (original and certified true copy by the school)
• student order number (certified true copy by the school)
• 2 2×2 photos (formal)

After getting these documents, then you are now ready to submit your Caregiver application to your Manpower Agency.

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Canadian application requirement for live in caregiver jobs

TESDA Training

The sudden increase in the popularity of Caregiver jobs abroad has prompted the Philippine Government to regulate the Caregiver program so that each Caregiver that will be going abroad will be armed with all the skills he or she needs to perform the job properly.

With this aim in mind, all Caregiver Schools in the country were required to register their Caregiver Program to the Philippine Government Agency tasks to regulate Technical Skills – The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or TESDA.

Each applying school must comply with the standards set by TESDA.  These standards must apply in their curriculum, number of training hours hours and trainers.  They must also comply with the set measurements of classrooms and training rooms plus the applying training institutions must also possess the required equipment and tools.  Here are the competencies caregiver students are expected to acquire at the end of the program:

BASIC COMPETENCIES: Participate in workplace communication,  Work in a team environment,  Practice career professionalism,  Practice occupational safety and procedures

COMMON COMPETENCIES: Implement and monitor infection control policies and procedures,   Respond effectively to difficult/challenging behavior,  Apply basic first aid, Maintain high standard of patient services

CORE COMPETENCIES: Provide care and support to infants/toddlers,  Provide care and support to children,  Foster social, intellectual, creative and emotional development of children,  Foster the physical development of children,  Provide care and support to elderly, Provide care and support to people with special needs,  Maintain healthy and safe environment,  Respond to emergency,  Clean living room, dining room, bedrooms, toilet and bathroom,  Wash and iron clothes, linen and fabric,  Prepare hot and cold meals

*source: TESDA website

After six months of rigorous training, the Caregiver trainees are required to take the National Competency Exam, also being given by TESDA, to be certified Caregivers.  This National Certificate is proof that the candidate has learned all the competencies set by the government.  This is also one of the papers being asked by the agencies, as well as the Canadian Embassy, when people are applying for a Caregiver post in Canada.  This and also the certification from TESDA that the Caregiver school they’ve attended is registered in TESDA’s system.  So before applying yourself to any Caregiver school, check first with the nearest TESDA if the school is registered or not so as to avoid inconveniece.

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Caregivers Training and Certification in the Philippines