A main objective of Health Skills East is to support employers.  Wehave established a number of learning sets to support employers and these are listed below:

• Apprenticeships - Young and Adult
• Skills for Life (Literacy, Language and Numeracy)
• Workforce Competencies for service and role re-design

In addition, the following networks are available within the region:

• Education Network (for Colleges, SSCs and other stakeholders)
• Dialogue East
  

We would welcome your views and on establishing any further sets, in line with your workforce priorities - Tell Us What You Think.

APPRENTICESHIPS

Apprenticeships are not new – they have been around for many years, traditionally in the building craft areas. Within the Health sector, there are a wide range of apprenticeships available. For further information go to the Apprenticeships page on this website.

The Apprenticeship Network

To help launch and develop apprenticeships locally, we have established an Apprenticeship Learning Set (ALS) which meets to help employers get apprenticeships off the ground. The ALS shares its work regionally and nationally, reviewing experiences and resources. To find out the date of the next meeting contact Wendy Wilkinson, Learning Networks Manager, email: Wendy.wilkinson@healthskillseast.org.uk.

SKILLS FOR LIFE (Literacy, Language and Numeracy)

For further information on this area go to the Skills for Life page on this website.

Skills for Life Employer Network

A Skills for Life Employers group has been set up to support the Skills for Life (SfL) needs of the sector. More recently this group has been looking at acting upon their commitment to the Skills Pledge. The group meets quarterly and all employers are welcome to attend. For more information about this network contact Anthea Hockly, Chair of group:
Email: anthea.hockly@southessex-trust.nhs.uk

 Skills for Life Provider Network

ACER's Stepping-stones project (see below) also funds a Network that meets on a quarterly basis and offers support to employers, trainers, assessors and Skills for Life tutors who are keen to explore innovative models of literacy, language and numeracy provision in the workplace. Members of the Network work collaboratively to develop and share a wide range of contextualised assessment and training materials for use on embedded programmes in Health and Social Care. The Network also maintains a list of useful websites and nationally produced Skills for Life resources that are appropriate for use in workplace provision. For more details, contact Bob Read on 07795 260483 or by email:  bob.read@acer.ac.uk.

The Stepping-stones Project

The ACER ESF Stepping-stones project has funding to engage hard to reach staff groups in SfL learning. These are staff groups that perhaps would not come forward very easily to engage in learning and development opportunities. Staff who may need additional support or older staff who have thus far managed to avoid any SfL support. In short staff who need to be encouraged and supported into learning to take that first step.

For further information on the project, click here - or contact the Project Manager, Wendy Wilkinson, on:
Mob:  07920 087584
email: wendy.wilkinson@acer.ac.uk.

WORKFORCE COMPETENCIES FOR SERVICE AND ROLE RE-DESIGN

Learning Network

Everyday, people who work in the health sector are asked to carry out numerous activities. Each activity must be carried out effectively and consistently, no matter who is doing it and wherever they are in the UK.

Skills for Health has developed competences to describe what individuals need to do, what they need to know and which skills they need to carry out an activity. They can be used across the board - by all health professions, and all levels of staff, whether in the independent or voluntary sectors, or in the NHS. Competences can be used to meet the demands of the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework [KSF].

Some activities have more competences associated with them than others.

"The competency framework has been so valuable in shaping the proactive aspect of the Community Matron role - in supporting patients and reducing the periods of crisis which often led to hospital admissions." 

Paul Taylor - Deputy Head of Education and Development, East of England SHA

A learning network has been established to look at competences and the benefits and flexibilities of using competences in workforce / service design and redesign. This network will provide support for existing project managers but also look to encourage other managers to explore the Skills for Health products, services and tools to support this process.

Please see the related Skills for Health web pages for the following:

• Competences tools
• Completed competences / projects
• Competences in development
• Competences FAQs

If you would like to download Skills for Health's glossary of terms used within our competences, then please click here.

If you are another Sector Skills Council (SSC) or Sector Skills Body (SSB) and you would like to import our competences, please see the NOS importation process flowchart and importation and request form which can be found at:  http://www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/competences.aspx.

EDUCATION NETWORK

ACER’s Health and Social care Network provides a forum for those colleagues in colleges in the region who manage the curriculum and students’ learning in the disciplines of the two sectors, together with colleagues from Skills for Health, Skills for Care and other relevant stakeholders. Its objectives are to support the professional development of its members through:

• Identifying and developing best practice in learning
• Supporting the commissioning of education and skills provision through briefing and keeping up to date the members on strategies and developments related to workforce development needs in the sectors
• Enabling learning provision to be more reflective of workforce development needs
• For further information, contact Reg Smith at ACER by email: reg.smith@acer.ac.uk

DIALOGUE EAST

The East of England SHA has set up a work related social networking site, Dialogue East - for staff with an NHS email account. Non-NHS email addressees can join if they are invited by an NHS member. The website enables NHS colleagues to set up user groups across the East of England, within which they can write blogs, hold discussions and share files and information.

RESOURCE GUIDE

To access information on national and other learning networks to support employers and their staff, see section 8 of the Resource Guide.

BESPOKE HELP

Brokerage services provide a wide range of one-on-one free advice direct to customers and you are encouraged to make contact. Go to Contact Us to find a brokerage service to suit your needs.

As a partnership, we do not provide commercial consultancy services. We would, however, like to hear your views on training a band of experts drawn from staff already managing change in the health sector. Staff concerned would gain CPD - Tell Us What You Think.