Who We Hire

Assistants come to L’Arche from a wide variety of backgrounds.

Experience with caregiving or training as a Personal Support Worker is beneficial, but not mandatory for hiring in most locations.

Most Assistants have university or college education. Typical degree programs include arts, humanities, music, teaching, social work, sociology, psychology, fine arts, theology, philosophy, religious education, disability studies, not-for-profit management and more. Some Assistants have had previous full time work experience in a variety of organizations, and some come to L’Arche as a shift from a previous career. Assistants come from Canada, and from all over the world. So far we have welcomed assistants from 77 countries, and we are always hopeful to add to this list.

While there is no particular background or experience required to succeed in the role, we find that a desire to support others, to be part of a team, to experience community life, to develop friendships and to discover our shared human spirituality makes for a great Assistant experience. In particular, we look for people who want to live in a L’Arche home, and who can make minimum commitment of one year. In addition, potential Assistants must be able to learn and perform responsibilities outlined in the Assistant Role Overview, such as: providing direct care support and carrying out household duties.

Assistants who enjoy, grow, and succeed in the L’Arche experience typically have many of the following qualities:

• Care about other people
• Friendly and enjoy being with people
• Patient, with the desire to help others learn and grow
• Team player who is willing to work cooperatively
• Open to learning and receiving feedback with a desire for personal growth
• Responsible and takes initiative to live the role to a high standard
• Motivated to make a positive difference for our world
• Open to the spirituality of L’Arche and to supporting others’ faith journey
• Wants to participate in the fun of community life, share joy, and laugh together
• Able to appreciate other people in all their diversity
• Open to friendships with people with intellectual disability

In your first weeks and months at L’Arche you will receive the orientation and training that you need to succeed. However, there are certain experiences, skills, and qualifications which help with the functioning of the community or which help to enrich the life of the community.

The following are experiences and skills that are very much appreciated:

• Experience with people who have intellectual disabilities
• Experience in caregiving
• Musical or artistic talent
• Driver’s License
• First Aid or other health related training
• Cooking or gardening skills
• Spiritual or faith-based background, training
• Experience living in a community (camp, shared home)
• Creativity in planning celebrations
• Fun interests or hobbies
• Media and communication skills (photography, video, writing)

Required qualifications are:

• Applicants must be proficient in English or French (written and spoken).
• Must be at least 18 years of age. (If interested in the L’Arche Vancouver community, you must be at least 19 years of age.)

We invite you to join us!