Become a personal assistant

Find out about being a personal assistant (PA) and the training and support available to you.

As a PA, you will be supporting your employer to live independently. You don't need to have any previous experience or qualifications to become a PA. It is important to have the right values, because your employer will rely on you for their support.

You may be asked to provide support in the home, at leisure or at work, and work in ways to encourage and support the achievement of greater independence, self-reliance and wellbeing for the people we support.

Your employer will usually be the person directing their own support, however, they could also be a parent or grandparent, the disabled person's representative, family member or carer.

You may be providing support with:

• personal care – using the bathroom and/or getting dressed
• day to day living – cooking, cleaning, shopping or assisted working
• getting about in the community – providing transport, driving their car or using public transport
• maintaining hobbies and interests, or relationships with family and friends
  

Remember that your employer:

• will have a way they want things done
• has a right to have their dignity and privacy maintained (and the privacy of their family and friends)
• will always be the expert in their care or the care of their disabled child (if you are employed to support a disabled child)
  

You need to:

• be sensitive to your employer's needs
• listen carefully to ensure you do what your employer asks
• not assume you know what is best
  

Becoming a personal assistant

If you are considering becoming a PA or you're an existing PA and want to a recap on the essentials, we offer a one day Essential guide to being a PA training course.

The course focusses on areas and topics beneficial to when you first start your role, including:

• the role of the PA
• safeguarding adults and children
• communication and relationships
• building effective working relationships
  

Job vacancies

If you are looking for work as a PA you can register yourself for free on the UKCIL website where you will also find details of existing vacancies from people looking for support.

If you would like further information on the role of a PA, training and other support why not contact the Direct Payments and PA Support Hub by phone on 0113 378 3936 or email LeedsDPandPAsupporthub@leeds.gov.uk.

Training

Any training for the role will be agreed with you by your employer. We can also help you identify any training and support that will help you in your role.

E-learning

We provide a wide range of e-learning modules.

To access the e-learning, email ASCODTeam@leeds.gov.uk including your name, email address and your chosen modules. We will contact you with an individual log in and password to access these.

Training courses

We also offer face to face and webinar sessions. Please discuss with your employer and identify any of the courses that may benefit you.

For further details of the courses, visit the care quality team's training and development page or email ASCODTeam@leeds.gov.uk to request any of these training courses. We will then help you to choose the best dates and times.

Qualifications and further development

We are working in partnership with Leeds City College to offer PAs further professional development opportunities through various different sector related qualifications.

As these are nationally recognised qualifications, they will take longer to complete than a training course or e-learning modules.

Please discuss with your employer if you are interested in enrolling on any of these courses. Email ASCODTeam@leeds.gov.uk and we can send you the enrolment information for college.

Additional support

Pay

Your employer will advise you of the rate of pay and how often you'll be paid (for example, monthly).

You will be entitled to at least 5.6 weeks holiday per year, including bank holidays.

Your working hours will be decided by your employer and will be set out in your contract of employment.