Marcel’s switch from airlines to aged care

Sydney-based staff member Marcel was just weeks away from switching jobs in the airline industry when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and global air travel shut down. After 16 years of working in the industry he had been obsessed with since a child, Marcel’s life was turned upside down.

Securing a team leader position with KinCare almost two years ago was a big career move for Marcel – but a life change he doesn’t regret.

“I’m from South Africa. I’ve been living in Australia now for two years. I was a cabin crew manager and safety instructor [before the pandemic]. I used to travel the world. I worked with delegates from the United Nations; during the 2010 World Cup, I flew with national soccer teams; I also did military charters – taking soldiers into war zones. I eventually became a safety instructor and after that, a cabin crew manager. I’ve been obsessed with airlines from about nine years old. Working in the airline industry was something that I was very passionate about,” he explains.

Needless to say, the shutdown of the world’s airline industry in 2020 was devastating for Marcel. Living in Sydney at the time with his partner, Marcel wasn’t sure what he would do next until he saw a job advertisement for KinCare.

“If you are looking for a job where you are going to be challenged, where you have the opportunity to make a real and immediate difference in people’s lives, then KinCare is the right place for you.”

“It was heartbreaking for me to leave a career that I had loved and was invested in for so long. But when I came across the ad for the KinCare Service Delivery Team Leader for Inner West, it was literally as if the job ad was written for me,” Marcel says.

“It was everything that I had been doing, except it was not in the airline industry. I felt I could really get behind it because it was a role that meant something and it was making an impact.”

Marcel started with KinCare in July 2020 and hasn’t looked back. Initially responsible for managing a team of Home Care Workers across the Inner West, Marcel has been able to transfer his skills and experience to the aged care sector and is thriving in his new career. Six months into the job, Marcel’s area of responsibility expanded to include Home Care Workers in the Parramatta area. A few months later, Marcel was asked to step into an Acting Service Delivery Manager role and then, in September 2021, he was offered a permanent role as KinCare’s Greater Sydney Service Delivery Manager.

“My role now is about coordinating the efforts and ensuring consistency amongst the team leaders. There is a lot of consultation with clinical governance and my counterparts in scheduling or the Customer space to ensure that service delivery maintains our standards. It’s also future planning and trying to get the region and resources ready for the growth opportunities that we have,” Marcel explains.

With personal experience caring for his grandmother, Marcel says knowing that the whole KinCare team is making a difference to older Australians has kept him motivated – even through some of the most challenging times of the pandemic.

“It’s really, really challenging, but it’s worth it because of the work that we are doing. The people that I work with make it worth the while as well. They are a really great team that I feel loyal to and am happy to work alongside.”

Marcel is grateful to have found KinCare and to have been given so many opportunities in such a short timeframe.

“I haven’t even been here for two years and I’ve already been promoted. I know a 100 per cent there are opportunities [for career progression]. I’ve got two Team Leaders who used to be Home Care Workers. There are Commonwealth Home Support Program Coordinators, Assessors, Intake staff who all started as Home Care Workers,” he explains.

“I’ve seen that KinCare recognises and rewards people who invest in the business. When you make yourself available and when you look at the challenges as stepping stones rather than obstacles, you really have ample opportunity to make a career path for yourself at KinCare,” Marcel says.

As for working in the aged care sector with KinCare, Marcel loves where he has landed.

“I felt I could really get behind it because it was a role that meant something and it was making an impact.”

“If you are looking for a job where you are going to be challenged, where you have the opportunity to make a real and immediate difference in people’s lives, then KinCare is the right place for you.

“The Customer service we provide is not making frappuccinos or coffee for people. We’re allowing them to live in their own homes. We’re allowing them to live with dignity and we’re allowing them to be safe.

“It’s not easy, but it’s a great team culture. It’s a great organisation. The two values that we have; we come together around our Customer and we support each other as a team; are simple and elegant. I can speak from the Greater Sydney team, we really do live that.”