Training and development

Challenges

The challenges we face around training and development are:

• Across all staff groups, only 44% of workers within the social care sector hold a relevant qualification. The average for the East of England is 45%.
• The recruitment and retention difficulties currently being experienced within the sector have made it difficult for employees to be released for training
• The high turnover rate of staff impacts staff accessing the training that is required. Norfolk has a higher-than-average percentage of staff moving within the sector
• In April 2022, the government announced £500m nationally to train and retain talent in the health and social care workforce and to attract new staff as part of the health and social care levy. This has since been reduced to £250m nationally.

Read more about workforce challenges.

Support for providers and staff working in the sector

Developing skills in health and social care (DSHSC) was a training, skills development, and mentoring project jointly led by Suffolk County Council and part-funded by the European Social Fund.

Through this project, which concluded activity on 30 September, we worked in partnership with a range of training delivery providers, stakeholders such as Care Development East and Norfolk and Suffolk care support and our evaluation partners, Healthwatch Suffolk.

Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils are committed to working together with stakeholders in the region to continue to build on the strengths identified during the DSHSC project and to support the workforce to access high quality training, skills development, and mentoring opportunities. This work will include the continued provision of:

• Mentors
• Soft skills workshops
• Leadership and workplace culture support
• The development of a regional sector skills plan for the adult social care and health workforce
• Leverage additional funding sources for training and development

Feedback 

We want learners who undertake training, skill development, and/or mentoring to be able to say:

• "I found the training, skill development, and/or mentoring relevant to me and my role"
• "I developed skills and knowledge for my role"
• "I am more confident in my role"
• "I am interested in taking up further training"
• "I have progressed in my role, and/or I am interested in exploring progression opportunities"

We want employers who support their workforce to undertake training, skill development, and mentoring to be able to say:

• "The training and mentoring offered is relevant and useful to my workforce and the people we support"
• "The quality of care and support we provide has improved"
• "Retention within my workforce has improved"
• "The confidence and skills of my workforce has improved"
• "We actively promote learning opportunities for our workforce"