Support Workers
No, you don’t need experience to become a support worker with ENABLE. Some clients are looking for support in life skills or are looking primarily for a friend. Other families have more specific needs but are happy to train their support worker!
There are also clients that have higher behavioural, medical, or personal care needs. The families of these clients are looking for support workers with experience in the healthcare space.
YES! Support worker positions with ENABLE are paid!
The rate of pay depends on the level of funding that the family gets as well as how much experience the support worker has. You will be informed of the hourly wage before you start working.
You will record your hours worked, start and end times of your shift, and the activities you attended on the ENABLE payroll invoice. Each support worker receives pay on a monthly basis.
Enable matches children and young adults with disabilities to support workers. We base our matches on:
- YOUR INTERESTS (love swimming? Trampolining? – Great, your match does, too!)
- YOUR SCHEDULE (want to work as much as possible? Only available Wednesday evenings? -No problem!
- YOUR LOCATION (short commutes are the best!)
This means you get to hang out with a really cool client while getting paid to do the things you love with, working the hours you want, and gaining valuable experience.
ENABLE Support workers are like big-brothers, big-sisters, or friends to their clients! They provide guidance, encouragement, and companionship to a client who has a disability.
You will support your client in social activities like sports and games or on outings to the Zoo and TELUS Spark. You might be asked to provide wellness and personal care to your client, including assistance with morning/night routine, changing for the pool, or toileting.
Support workers are also great advocates for their clients! They support their client in developing life skills like reading/writing, cooking, and learning how to order or pay for items.
To apply, you must complete our application form here.
In the application, we will require a copy of (or proof that you have applied for) your Police Information Check with Vulnerable Sector Search and CPR certification before you can be matched! We will also ask for an updated resume or CV.
Usually, the longest period of waiting is waiting for your Police Information Check to return once you have applied for it! The form can sometimes be returned as early as 2 weeks but can take as long as 4 weeks, so apply early!
Once all of your documentation is submitted and if you are flexible with open availability, you usually can get started pretty fast! If you have limited availability or live far from where the families currently looking for support live, it can take more time.
Many families prefer that their support worker owns a reliable vehicle and can drive the client to and from activities.
However, not all families require that the worker has a car. The family or Access Calgary can transport client to and from activities. In some cases, the support worker can take transit with the client!
For those support workers who agree to transport clients in their personal vehicles, it is mandatory that the support worker organizes proper coverage for their and the client’s protection.
Each client has different support needs. They can be looking for as little as 6 hours/week all the way up to 45 hours/week. Some families are looking for before/after school care and even overnight respite! You can work with one or even two and three families if you would like.
The flexibility of this job depends on you and the client you are working with. Sometimes families prefer that the support worker works the same hours each week while other families might send a text when they need a shift covered. We always recommend that you book your next shift with your client before the end of your current shift.
For the best results, let us know in your application how many hours/day, week, or month you are available, which days of the week/month, and the time ranges you are available.
We understand that things can change, but we ask that you inform us as well as the family and the client you are working with about the changes in your availability as soon as you know.
Families
ENABLE matches children, youth, and young adults with disabilities to support workers. We base our matches on:
- SHARED INTEREST: Does your child love swimming? Trampolining? – That is great because his or her match does, too!;
- YOUR SCHEDULE: Need support during the day? Only need support on Wednesday evenings? – No problem; and
- YOUR LOCATION: Short commutes are the best! This means that your child gets to hang out with a really cool support worker and gets to do the things he or she loves.
ENABLE Support Workers are like big-brothers, big-sisters, or friends to their clients! They provide guidance, encouragement, and companionship to a client who has a disability. They support your child in social activities like sports or games or outings to the Zoo or TELUS Spark, for example. Depending on your child’s care needs, the support workers can provide wellness and personal care, including assistance with morning/night routine or toileting. Support workers are also positioned to be great advocates for their clients! Support workers are also great at helping clients develop life skills like reading or writing, cooking, and learning how to order or pay for items. In some cases, support workers can also provide overnight support for their clients.
Each ENABLE support worker completed a cleared Police Information Check with Vulnerable Sector Search obtained within the 6 months previous to application date and completed on an annual basis. He or she must also hold a valid CPR certification. Each support worker has provided ENABLE with an updated resume or CV, which is forwarded to families to review during the matching process.
Many of our support workers are post-‐secondary students completing their degree or diploma program or are young professionals who recently completed education such as healthcare aide, child care, licensed practical nurses, for example. While many ENABLE support workers have previous childcare or disability support experience, some of our support workers are new to this role. This provides clients and families with a great opportunity to facilitate their learning and how to best care for their child.
All payments are made through our easy-‐to-‐use online payment platform. ENABLE does not currently direct bill FSCD or PDD (we are working on it, though!). Depending on the position and the amount of experience required, ENABLE will negotiate the rate of pay directly with the family. Often, ENABLE accepts the rate of pay allocated in your government contract through FSCD or PDD (as long as it is above minimum wage at $15/hour). Funds can also be paid fully or topped-‐up by families out-‐of-‐pocket.
Support workers should be informed of their hourly wage before they start working. Support workers will record their hours worked, the start and end times of their shift, and the activities attended on their monthly ENABLE payroll invoice. Families will receive their ENABLE invoice by email at the beginning of each month. All payments must be made within one week of receiving the invoice.
To best serve you, ENABLE charges a transaction fee of 15% of the support worker’s wage, to be added on top of the wage. This service fee covers finder’s fees, invoicing and payroll, managing our platform, support, and training for support workers, and for ongoing membership in the growing Enable community.
Click here for more information.
Many families prefer that their support worker owns a reliable vehicle and can drive with the client to and from activities. In other cases, families drive the client to meet the support worker or the client takes Access Calgary to the specified activity.
For those support workers who agree to transport clients in their personal vehicles, it is mandatory that the family assists the support worker in organizing proper vehicle insurance coverage to ensure safety for all.
Once our team receives a family’s registration, we do our best to find a support worker as soon as possible. Families that specify more flexible support worker positions or that are more centrally-‐located are more likely to find a match quicker; however, families with more specific criteria or training needs might take longer to be matched. In either case, we do our best to make matches efficiently.
To apply, you must complete our registration form here. In the application, we will ask you for the name of the client, his or her primary contact’s information, the accessibility and personal care needs that the client has, and the needed schedule (can be specific or flexible).