Summer job in healthcare: get paid work in elderly care after your exams

Final-year students from pre-vocational secondary education (VMBO), senior general secondary education (HAVO), and pre-university education (VWO) who are interested in a future in healthcare can gain paid work experience in elderly care this summer. Senior citizen organization Oktober and educational institution Summa are launching a new program in which young people from the region, after graduating from high school, complete a short, practical training program and then start working in elderly care. This allows young people to earn money in a field related to their further education, while Oktober receives additional support in daily care during the summer.

The students support clients with activities of daily living (ADLs), such as helping them get up, wash, dress, and attend mealtimes. They always work alongside experienced caregivers. Before starting their work, the young people complete a short training course from Summa, focusing on interacting with (elderly) clients and carefully performing these tasks. Upon completion, they receive a certificate of participation.

Recruitment deliberately starts early in the year. This gives young people and their parents time to make a well-considered choice and allows everything to be well organized around the summer period. Summa and participating secondary schools, including Sondervick College and Pius X-College, jointly conduct the initial selection. During this process, motivation is assessed and whether the program suits the student. This is followed by a matching interview at Oktober.

There are 34 spots available for this first edition. The organizations have deliberately chosen a small-scale start, ensuring participants receive proper guidance and care teams know what to expect.

"You can tell that many young people are curious about healthcare, but also want to discover what the work entails and whether it's a good fit for them," says Silvie Lambrechts, project leader at Summa. "This short training course provides them with excellent preparation for their first steps in the field. That's valuable for both the student and the clients."

Tineke Smets, project leader at Oktober: "This program allows young people to gain paid experience in elderly care this summer. If it works out, a student can continue working in the same role on weekends and during the holidays as a part-time job. This way, we're investing not only in the summer, but also in the future."

Participants must be 16 years or older, be available for at least three days a week, and take a maximum of three weeks of vacation during that period. They will work in one of Oktober's departments and earn considerably more than in a supermarket. The training costs are fully covered by the healthcare organization.

You can sign up here.