After years spent supporting others, Careen Field already had plenty of practical knowledge behind her. The 40-year-old Cowra local had worked for eight-and-a-half years in early childhood, as well as in PCYC vacation care and as a teacher’s aide, before eventually finding her way into disability services.
In 2025, she decided to return to formal education, enrolling in a Certificate IV in Community Services through VERTO’s Training Services.
“I had a lot of practical experience, but I reached a point where I wanted to build on that with formal qualifications and develop my knowledge and skills further,” Careen said.
Careen has completed her training with VERTO online, offering some flexibility as she balances study with work, raising a family as a single parent and the other responsibilities of everyday life.
“Going back to study as an adult was quite intimidating,” she said. “There were times when I questioned whether I was going to be able to keep up, but I learnt that I was much more capable than I gave myself credit for.”
While returning to formal learning later in life presented some challenges, Careen soon discovered that it also came with an unexpected advantage.
“I wasn’t just learning something from a textbook,” she said. “I could see how it applied to the people I support and the work I was doing every day.”
That connection encouraged her to think more deeply about person-centred practice, communication, advocacy, professional boundaries and supporting people to have greater choice and control.
The course also prompted Careen to reflect on what she brought to her work professionally.
“I became more confident in speaking up, thinking critically and understanding that my experience and knowledge have value,” she said.
After completing her Certificate IV, Careen enrolled in a Diploma of Community Services with VERTO and is now well over halfway through the qualification.
“Finishing the Certificate IV gave me confidence that I could do this,” she said. “The Diploma felt like the next step. I wanted to deepen my knowledge and develop professionally rather than stopping once I had achieved one qualification.”
Continuing her studies has still required plenty of juggling, and Careen says having a trainer who understands the competing responsibilities adult learners often face has made a difference during the tougher periods.
“Sometimes you just need someone to believe in you while you are learning to believe in yourself,” she said.
As she works towards completing her Diploma, Careen is also considering where her growing knowledge might take her next.
She is particularly interested in supporting young people with disability as they transition from school into adulthood and employment, while remaining open to opportunities across other areas of community services.
“I don’t necessarily have one set career path mapped out yet, and I think that’s part of the exciting thing about continuing my studies,” she said.
Looking back, Careen says her proudest achievement is a personal one.
“I’m most proud that I haven’t given up on myself,” she said. “There were plenty of reasons I could have said, ‘It’s too hard’, ‘I’m too busy’ or ‘I’ll do that later’. But I went back to study anyway.”
Careen hopes her experience might encourage others to back themselves and see where learning could take them.
“Don’t wait until you think your life is perfect, because there will probably never be a perfect time,” Careen said. “You don’t have to know exactly where you’re going to end up. You just have to take the first step.”
For more information about VERTO’s Training Services visit https://www.verto.org.au/training or call 1300 483 786.
