General - Frequently Asked Questions
- Who is Skills for Care?
- What does Skills for Care do?
- Do Skills for Care deal with childrens services?
- How can we help employers in the North West?
- Is it possible to get funding to help pay for training?
- I am a Training Provider how do I include my details on your website?
- Where can I find out about local training courses?
- What are Employer-led Partners?
- What is the National Minimum Data Set-Social Care (NMDS-SC)?
- What are the Common Induction Standards and where can I find out more about them?
- What is a Sector Skills Agreement?
- What are Care Ambassadors?
- How do I find out more about starting a career in care, including qualifications I will need?
- Who is Skills for Care?
Skills for Care is the employer led authority on the training standards and development needs of nearly one million social care staff in England providing over £25 million in funding to support improved training and qualifications for managers and staff.
NOTE: Skills for Care is not a training provider, nor is it able to recommend or endorse any courses or training providers.
For more information see our Who we are leaflet - What does Skills for Care do?
- We provide robust data about the social care workforce
Employers can use the National Minimum Data Set (NMDS) Online, our Workforce and Qualification Research and reports about the workforce to improve training and qualifications of their staff to boost their business.- We help develop new ways of working and delivering services
Our New Types of Working and Workforce Development Strategy will help employers and their staff be innovative and flexible to capitalise on future business development opportunities- We create a flexible qualifications framework that underpins workforce development, learning and training for 1.3million social care workers
For employers to develop a highly trained workforce we produce Induction Standards, National Occupational Standards, Qualification Frameworks, Knowledge Sets and Leadership and Management tools to ensure they can make their business the best service provider in their area- We help improve the image and status of the social care workforce
To help employers improve recruitment and retention we demonstrate social care is a long-term career, where 90% of staff are happy in their work. Our national Accolades awards celebrate the achievements of innovative social care employers every year.- We are the employer voice on emerging Government policy
To make sure that employers have an effective voice in shaping government policy that is realistic and practical - Do Skills for Care deal with childrens services?
No, Skills for Care deal exclusively with adult social care. The Children's Workforce Development Council are responsible for children’s services.
The two bodies liaise closely, and together are England’s part of ‘Skills for Care and Development’‚ the UK-wide sector skills council for social care, children and young people, alongside the already-existing Scottish Social Services Council, Care Council for Wales, and Northern Ireland Social Care Council.
- How can we help employers in the North West?
- Opportunities to access funding for NVQs and training – link with your Lead Partners to find out more
- Weekly "enews" bulletin to keep you upto date on new initiatives and opportunities, contact catherine.wilson@skillsforcare.org.uk to subscribe
- Links to training material for workforce development, including the new Care Training Codes
- Opportunities to be consulted about key regional and national initiatives affecting social care employers and their workforce
- Free regional and sub-regional workshops to support employers and the workforce.
- Is it possible to get funding to help pay for training?
Skills for Care receive an allocation of money from the Department of Health, to help employers fund Induction and NVQ training. This money, called the Training Strategy Implementation Fund is a contribution to the overall costs of training and is distributed by Lead Partners in each local authority in the North West.
To claim this money your organisation must be part of a local partnership to apply for TSI funding. It is also a requirement that your organisation complete the National Minimum Dataset - Social Care employer returns as well.
Any care provider from the voluntary, private and statutory sector can apply. The TSI funding has always been aimed at helping smaller, hard to reach employers but it is open to all employers in the sector. The funding amounts to £80 per NVQ unit claimed. You can apply for as many completed units as you wish during the financial year (Apr-Mar) but the earlier you apply the better as funds can run out before the end of the financial year.
To apply visit our funding page and join your local Partnership.
- I am a Training Provider how do I include my details on your website?
You can register your details on the Training Provider Directory. Visit Training Provider Directory (http://www.nwtpdatabase.org.uk/) to register your details. You will be given a log in and a password – use these to keep your details up to date. If you lose your username or password contact catherine.wilson@skillsforcare.org.uk.
Providers can then search this database and find suitable training providers. They can search by course, company, town or county.
As a Training Provider you can also get involved with Skills for Care North West by joining our sub-regional .
- Where can I find out about local training courses?
Try searching our Training Provider Database - www.nwtpdatabase.org.uk. You can search for specific courses, look for companies in your local area or search for a specific company. You do not need to register for this
- What are Employer-led Partners?
Employer led partnerships are locally based partnerships of employers, who look at training, qualifications and other workforce issues. There are Lead Partnersin the North West, one for each local authority area. Any social care employer can join however the partnerships do have membership criteria
Some of the work done by Employer Led Partnerships includes:
- Distribute funding from Skills for Care and other organisations, for qualifications and training
- Hold careers and recruitment events
- Undertake workforce analysis
- Work with training providers to improve quality
- Help raise the image of social care by holding events such as award ceremonies for staff who have demonstrated excellence
- What is the National Minimum Data Set-Social Care (NMDS-SC)?
As part of a Sector Skills Council we have responsibility for the collection of workforce data. The National Minimum Dataset-Social Care (NMDS-SC) is the first attempt to gather this workforce information for the social care sector.
The NMDS-SC is a means of gathering a minimum of information about services and staff across all groups and sectors within social care. The information will be used, confidentially, to make policy decisions on how to support employers and staff in delivering quality services.For employers the NMDS-SC involves completing an Organisation form giving us information about their organisation and staff. Employee forms also need completing to provide information on the individual employees working in the sector.
NMDS-SC can now NMDS online system. If you have any questions on the online system contact the helpline on 0845 873 0129 (local rate).
You can download National NMDS briefings which provide valuable date on the workforce.
- What are the Common Induction Standards and where can I find out more about them?
The Common Induction Standards (CIS) are designed for people entering social care, and those changing roles or employers within adult social care. They are designed to be met within a 12-week period, and were developed to reflect recent changes to the NVQ requirements and the General Social Care Council Code of Practice. The CIS forms the basis of registration of all social care staff.
Four CIS documents are available to download:
- the standards with a glossary which outlines how they link to recently revised NVQ requirements
- a manager's guide
- a guide for new workers
- a certificate for managers to sign to confirm that standards have been met.
You can download all of these publications from the national site
There are also priced publications such as ‘12 weeks and beyond’ which guide employers through the CIS process. Again you can download these from the national site
- What is a Sector Skills Agreement?
Sector Skills Agreements (SSAs) map out what skills employers need their workforce to have and how these skills will be developed. SSAs put employers at the forefront, giving them real influence over how the skills of their workforce are developed.
The SSA will set out how partners will work together to secure the necessary supply of learning and development to meet skills needs and will be designed to ensure that 'the skills the sector wants and needs are the skills the sector gets'.
There is a in the North West which sets out the local agreements.
- What are Care Ambassadors?
are care professionals with the commitment and enthusiasm to change perceptions about careers in social care by engaging with groups in the community - for example, men and women returning to work, unemployed people and migrant workers, students, teachers and parents. Care Ambassadors will explain their job roles, qualification pathways and career routes and widen people's understanding and perception of the care sector as a whole.
There are 13 Care Ambassador schemes in the North West, all at different stages of development.
Contact Sue George (sue.george@skillsforcare.org.uk) for more information on the North West Care Ambassador schemes.
- How do I find out more about starting a career in care, including qualifications I will need?
There are many ways to start your career in care and some routes do not require you to have any qualifications to begin with.
To find out more visit www.socialworkandcare.co.uk and visit the Careers section.
