The Belize Training and Employment Centre (BTEC), a unit of BELTRAIDE, is Belize’s leading centre for industry specific workforce development, providing effective, demand driven, user-friendly and value based programs that will develop, deliver and sustain a quality work force. Its’ mission is to develop a cadre of well-trained, marketable and self-sufficient individuals able to confidently compete in the marketplace.
In keeping with its mandate, seventeen persons, who are employed or seeking employment as caregivers in homes of the elderly or in assisted living facilities received certificates at the conclusion of a five-week training on Basics of Caregiving during a brief ceremony held on Tuesday, August 23 at the Belize Training and Employment Centre (BTEC) on the ITVET Compound, Freetown Road, Belize City.
The training started on July 18, 2016, and was conducted by BTEC, a Unit of BELTRAIDE, in collaboration with PAHO/WHO, the Ministry of Health, the National Council on Aging, and with Sister Cecilia Home for the Elderly.
The training included topics such as: What is aging? Aging and the Mind (Dementia and Alzheimer’s), developing a Care Plan, Activities of Daily Living, Injury Prevention, Mechanics of Moving, Nutrition & Diet and Personal Hygiene. In addition, participants also had hands-on training in First Aid and CPR, which was conducted by the Belize Emergency Response Team (BERT).
Beyond learning the technical skills necessary, what differentiated BTEC’s home health care training was the first week of soft skills preparation. Topics covered included Work Ethics, Power of a Positive Attitude, Communication Skills, Time Management, Customer Service and a whole host of other personal attributes which are the soft skills that are crucial for career success. After this week of training participants moved on to the theory and practical requirements of being a home health care provider.
