How to Get into Care Assistant Jobs?

What can be more fascinating than getting the chance to join the NHS or some highly reputed healthcare facilities in the UK as a healthcare assistant? Yes, indeed, fascinating! But you have to be skilled enough to join such a national-level health care institution with certificates, skills and experience.
To get into such a well-known organisation as a care assistant, you are required to have an accredited certificate, certain qualifications, a work permit, and more. Hence, today in this blog, we will talk about the care assistant roles and jobs, and also discuss how to get into care assistant jobs easily, without lingering long.
Who is a Health Care Assistant?
As we all know, a health care assistant provides support to individuals who need help with daily living activities, personal care, and emotional well-being. They work in various settings, including care homes, hospitals, and private residences.
Care assistants assist with tasks such as bathing, dressing, feeding, administering medication, and performing household chores. Additionally, they offer companionship and emotional support, which contribute to the overall well-being of those they care for.
Can Non- Native People Be Health Care Assistants without Prior Experience?
Yes, if you arrived in the UK without any prior experience, you can still join the health social care industry. One of the top-notch health care organisations are NHS, Nuffield Health, BMI Healthcare, Bupa, and Spire Healthcare offer opportunities for non-native speakers to work with skills-based certificates.
To get into such a well-known institution, you don’t need many education qualifications, but required to have skills-based certification that allows you to work as a care assistant.
Below, we have discussed how to get a healthcare assistant job in the NHS or other well-known healthcare providers and what skills you can explore if you are a native pr non-native to the UK and have no prior skills in the healthcare field.
How to Get into Care Assistant Jobs?
Now, let’s address our main question, which was how to get into care assistant jobs in the UK. Check below to find the details:
- Build Your Care Assistant Skills: Building your skills means that if you want to get into National Health Service (NHS) jobs, you have to build certain skills for it, as you know that it’s a healthcare organisation and only people with the right skills get the chance to work here. The health care assistant’s role is an expanded role and needs good clinical skills.
To enter competitive and esteemed healthcare facilities like the NHS, a healthcare assistant must have a range of clinical skills, including phlebotomy and cannulation. Having related clinical skills makes you an outstanding candidate among a sea of other competitors. Luckily, Lead Academy provides a 3-in-1 HCA bundle training that can equip you with skills in health and social care, phlebotomy and cannulation.
- IELTS/ OET Exam: If you are someone who arrives in the UK, you need to pass the IELTS or OET ( occupational English test) exam to show your ability in English. It signifies your ability to communicate in English with people who stay in the UK.
- Prepare a Resume to Apply for Health Care Assistant Jobs: Once you build your skills, the next step is to get hired. To reach your desired job, you require a resume that demonstrates the skills and qualifications you have obtained. Mention what qualifications you have as a care assistant and that you can utilise in the required healthcare assistant jobs.
- Search National Health Service Jobs: If you desire to join a well-known UK health service care organisation, then you have to learn how to look for its jobs. Consider a search on Google like ‘NHS Jobs’, it will show all the results, and with your prepared resume, apply for those positions. Remember, getting called for the National Health Service is a big thing, and thus, with a patient, you have to try not once but multiple times, as it’s a competitive place where many of us dreamed of working.
- Prepare for the Interview: After applying for the care assistant jobs, you will receive interview calls and must perform well in the interviews. To do so, you need good preparation that helps you approach the interview session with confidence.
- Career Progression: Only getting the care assistant jobs should not be your only target; rather, you must progress with better skills, quality and certificates. In other words, to stay competitive in this health care industry, the more skilled you become, the better your position will be. Additional training and certifications can open doors for you in other related clinical sectors as well. For example, completing a phlebotomy course in London can help you progress to phlebotomist roles such as being a phlebotomy technician. Besides London, phlebotomy training course is provided in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, and Swindon.
How Much Does a Care Assistant Earn?
The care assistant’s salary depends on many things, such as bands, experience and more. Most HCAs fall under Band 2, with potential progression to Band 3 based on experience or additional skills/training
As per the 2025/26 NHS national pay scales:
- Band 2 (entry-level HCA): £30,074 annually (~£15.38/hour)
- Band 3 ranges from £30,546 to £32,207 annually (~£15.62–£16.47/hour)
However, on average, a health care assistant earns between £22,383 and £27,596 annually.
Summary
So far, you might have found the answer to how to get a Care Assistant Job. To sum everything up, you need to build the skills, earn an accredited certificate, and acquire more advanced skills to deepen your career in the healthcare industry.