A personal assistant, or PA for short, is a paid carer who works directly for someone with disabilities who lives independently. The disabled person receives money from their local authority or NHS, called a direct payment, to pay for their care and support. Many people use their direct payment to employ a PA. This means they can choose who works for them, what hours they do and what tasks they complete. Unlike other care jobs, the PA gets to work for one person building up a unique and close working relationship.
If you are a caring person with a real empathy for others, being a PA may be the career choice for you. We always have employers who are looking for the right person to meet their care and support needs - this could be you! Whilst caring experience is always useful, you don’t necessarily need to have worked in care to be a great PA, the right attitude and a person-centred approach is more important.
Please have a look at our resources below for more information and to see PAs in action and how they have made a difference to the life of the person they work with.