Q&A

Student Q&A: Bethanie D'Amico

Diploma of Counselling (CHC51015)

Community Services

Bethanie D'Amico from a northern suburb of Perth called Landsdale in Western Australia is an Upskilled student who studied the Diploma of Counselling CHC51015.

She’s had a long, exciting and varied work and study life, as she explains, “My career began 25 years ago in healthcare, then moved through to commercial and residential property management, mining management and now back to Aged and Community Care, all in leadership positions.”

Being very ambitious, Bethanie felt that even with her level of experience, she would benefit from extending her skills base with flexible learning.

“I found that the ability to work at your own pace and move ahead of the group if capable was very appealing as this allowed my busy schedule to be accommodated.”

Transferable skills in Community Services

The Diploma of Counselling CHC51015 allows students to make a meaningful and positive difference to people’s lives as well as a valuable contribution to society by gaining formal qualification in doing what they love – helping people and the community.

It teaches skills such as how to work with diverse people and how to research and apply personality and development theories in practice. Graduates of this course are also qualified to develop, facilitate and review all aspects of case management and to respond to crisis situations – skills that are to many different job roles.

“Currently, there is an increasing demand for community services in Australia,” explains Bethanie, especially in the Aged and Disability Care space.” Students who graduate will be suitable for many types of roles, including as a Careers Counsellor or a Family and Marriage Counsellor, yet Bethanie explains her path is slightly different.

Aged & Community Care: a growth sector

“I have now secured a job in the Aged and Community Sector in a leadership position,” she says, which is a wise decision, considering that Aged Care is a massive growth sector all across Australia. According to the Department of Employment, Aged Care is a very large occupation employing 140,400 workers. Over the past 5 years the number of jobs has grown strongly, with more than 50,000 job openings prospected over the 5 years to 2020.

“Continued study and upskilling has been a part of my career throughout the years,” Bethanie says, “to help me stay capable and competent in each discipline I have worked in.”

Bethanie has been building on her career for over 10 years now, “working in an ongoing capacity across many areas of leadership, management and human and community services for a decade,” so doing a course that was flexible, with no set study times and lectures to attend was paramount.

“The course was excellent! It allowed flexibility, and enabled my own pace to be accommodated, ensuring that my lifestyle requirements and other demands could also be accommodated.”

Working with industry-experienced trainers

Bethanie also received lots of positive feedback from her trainer, as she explains. “My trainer was amazing – she gave me constant feedback and constructive criticism, challenging my thinking and driving me to achieve better results each and every time! Christine Barrett was fantastic!”

It seems that Bethanie had an all-round positive experience with her studies, “Upskilled provided an easy, accommodating and well organised course that enabled study to be done where and when it suited me,” she explains.

“The course site and means of communication, materials access and assessment structures were fantastic and created an environment that generated motivation, building a deep interest in the course, and providing additional research and materials, meant that I looked forward to studying more and more every day!”

In her spare time, Bethanie likes to keep healthy and focus on her own wellbeing. “My personal interests include cooking and staying fit,” she says. “Running, in particular, keeps my mind and body healthy! Running clears my head and allows me to perform better in my leadership position, enabling better problem solving, clarity in thought, and general wellbeing.”

Upskilled would like to wish Bethanie all the best in her future career. We know that amazing things are ahead for her with her can-do attitude.

Ready to begin your Counselling career?

If you’d like to study the course that Bethanie did, head to the Community Services course page and check out the range of Bachelor Degrees, Advanced Diplomas, Diplomas and Certificates on offer.