Skills journal

Recognising the skills you are learning

Carers Trust have produced a booklet for that helps Young Carers think about what transferrable skills they have gained from their caring responsibilities.

This journal will help you to think about how being a carer has helped you to develop lots of skills. It can be hard to see what skills you have when you are using them every day.

Here are some examples of common caring responsibilities and the skills that could be attached to them:

  • Managing money for the house or applying for entitlements
    => budgeting; understanding complex documents; admin ability
  • Translating for someone
    => listening; thinking on your feet talking to professionals; showing respect
  • Listening to someone’s worries
    => patience; empathy; compassion; resilience
  • Practical skills in the house (like cooking or cleaning)
    = > timekeeping; prioritising what needs to be done first; problem solving
  • Helping someone with treatments or medications
    => responsibility; attention to detail and precision

Think about something you are responsible for, or a task you do as a carer. What skills does this show you have?

Here are two examples to get you thinking.

  1. If you help your Mum/Dad get the tea ready every evening and do your homework the skills you are developing might be:
    You complete lots of different tasks every day.  This has helped you to develop excellent time management skills and prioritising skills.
  2. If you talk to your big sister when she is feeling down then you may have experience with mental health issues and this has helped you develop good listening skills.

Next steps

When you’ve completed your journal, talk to your teacher, young carer worker or youth worker about what to do next.

If you’ve filled this journal in on your own and would like to find out where to get help and support, have a look at Carers.org/support-for-young-and-young-adult-carers.