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Brennan and Hope Launch National Skills Academy for Social Care

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 13 October 2009

Up to 1.5 million adult social care workers currently working in England will be able to improve their skills as the National Skills Academy for Social Care was launched today by Skills Minister Kevin Brennan and Care Services Minister Phil Hope.

Backed by over £6m of Government funding, the National Skills Academy (NSA) for Social Care will also train some of the estimated future 1 million highly skilled care workers needed to care for our ageing population. It will equip our workforce with the skills they need for the jobs of the future and will raise the status of careers in social care.

Skills Minister Kevin Brennan said:

“Now, more than ever, we need to develop training that empowers a new generation to realise their ambitions, and to deliver the very best patient care. And we need employers to be involved at every step. A new National Skills Academy for Social Care will help build a world-beating workforce that will improve standards and help shape rewarding careers: not just among new recruits but within the existing workforce.”

The Skills Academy will create a powerful partnership which allows employers to shape the training needed in the sector. It will direct learning support and training practice for 35,000 employers, with particular emphasis on small and medium-sized organisations.

Care Services Minister Phil Hope said:

“The National Skills Academy for Social Care is a unique and exciting development for the care sector. We need to ensure that we have a workforce in place that is well equipped to deliver high quality services driven by the people who use them. The employer-led Skills Academy will be the driving force to ensure this.

"The Skills Academy will also play a key role in implementing the Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy which we launched earlier this year. I want to boost the status of social care so that the sector can attract and retain the best and brightest candidates.”

The Skills Academy aims to inspire those currently working in social care, and help them to develop, alongside attracting more people into a rewarding career in social care. It is the first public sector National Skills Academy and the 13 th to join the network as an active of Skills Academy.

Supported by the Department of Health, the Skills Academy has already introduced a National Management Trainee Scheme to attract some of the executives of the future into the adult social care workforce. This scheme, with a pilot of 20 graduates is the first of its kind for social care. The one-year course is hosted by 20 employers across England and is designed for current graduates from a range of disciplines.

The NSA also plans to increase take-up of apprenticeships at both foundation and advanced levels for young people and adults and to drive up numbers of adults qualified to at least NVQ level 2 and level 3.

Notes to Editors

1. Initially the NSA will be funded by the Department of Health and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills through the Learning and Skills Council. It will receive over £6m in Government funding in its first three years, alongside sponsorship from employers. It will then be expected to be self-sustainable.

2. The National Skills Academy for Social Care is part of a national network of Skills Academies (13 now active) which are driven by business and delivering high quality skills that business needs across all the key sectors of the economy. Around 880,000 people will be trained by the National Skills Academies during their first five years of operation – securing around £130m in employer investment.

3. National Skills Academies are the gold standard for industry training, aiming to improve productivity and tackle skills shortages across England. Each National Skills Academy puts employers at the heart of skills training for their sector: they identify demand for future skills needs and ensure a responsive supply of excellent education and training for their sector; they ensure this is easily accessed by employers. It is managed by the Learning and Skills Council working in partnership with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, the Skills for Business Network, and the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

4. Those active are: Manufacturing, Construction, Financial Services, Food and Drink Manufacturing, Nuclear, Process Industries, Hospitality, Creative and Cultural Skills, Sport & Active Leisure, Retail and Materials, Production & Supply and, most recently, Enterprise and now Social Care.

Department for Business, Innovation & Skills

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is building a dynamic and competitive UK economy by: creating the conditions for business success; promoting innovation, enterprise and science; and giving everyone the skills and opportunities to succeed. To achieve this it will foster world-class universities and promote an open global economy. BIS - Investing in our future.

Contacts:

BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk

Jane Parsons
Phone: 020 7215 5947
Jane.Parsons@bis.gsi.gov.uk