6 Essential Modules For Your Foundation Skills Training Programme

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Rachel Sweeney, Marketing Executive

Foundation skills programmes are an investment in people and as a way of ensuring staff retention. Foundation skills training can boost effectiveness across an organisation. Its broad range of topics helps bridge gaps in performance and drive up standards, building a platform from which to launch future success.

Get with the programme

Foundation skills elearning programmes offer highly transferable skills.  They are created by experts in their fields and contain the best features of learning design to motivate learners and aid access to and retention of information.  They promote a collaborative approach that maximises the benefits of shared knowledge and resources to build expertise.

Foundation skills training is a holistic programme.  Modules are not just for newbies at the onboarding stage, but also cater to the learning needs of different levels in the organisation.  So, no matter who you are or what your experience, you’ll find something that is useful and relevant to your work.

These programmes continue to expand with new modules and new areas are being added all the time. In a working world where change is the by-word, Foundation Skills provide a ready-made solution to developing people.

The Essentials

You can argue that all foundation skills modules are essential as they’re deliberately targeted at the skill areas that need most attention.  But you have to start somewhere, so here are 6 foundation skills that can be regarded as the most essential.

1. Communications

We live in a world of instant communication to the extent that we’re often so deluged with messages, we can’t respond.  In this morass of communication tools, the ability to communicate clearly, concisely and intelligibly is paramount.

Foundations skills communication modules offer training in writing skills: whether it’s creating a presentation, producing marketing material, taking meeting minutes or simply communicating via email or instant messages.  With all our technological advancement effective writing remains the key means of communicating with your team, your boss, and your clients.

Foundation skills training also teaches you how to deal with the stress of email, how to use it more effectively and how to manage it.  This is a practical way to ensure you make maximum use of your time and learn the ability to prioritise what needs to be said and done and when.

Foundations skills also includes how to deliver presentations.  The modules give you the confidence and the techniques to capture an audience and teaches you how to prepare properly and avoid unnecessary stress.  

2. Teamwork

It follows from the Communications modules that you need the participation of others to success in modern business.  Lone efforts and solo runs tend to destabilise and confuse, rather than provide solutions.  Sustainable performance and success can only really be achieved through effective teamwork.  

Foundation skills training Team Working modules show you how to direct a team through constructive feedback.  They’ll help you acquire the skills required to empower team members to make effective contributions so that working is a truly collaborative enterprise.  You’ll learn how you can help as an individual to boost team spirit and translate that into improved team performance.

3. Change Management

If there’s one certainty in modern business, it’s change.  Standing still and relying on what you once knew and did are unlikely to prepare you for the changes ahead.  A thorough understanding of Change Management, on the other hand, can.

Change affects individuals, job roles, teams and the structure of organisations.  But if we understand the nature of change, the rationale behind it and its impact, we can work to manage and direct in a way that moves the business forward, calms fears, and mitigates disruption.

Change Management modules provide practical ways for you to control change, covering in detail the models and theories that guide Change Management.  The modules explain how to bring people along the journey by communicating the vision of change and explaining everyone’s part in that vision. Change Management takes you through the change process step by step so that at the end, people understand the need for change, the vision for that change and the way we can get there together and taste the benefits.

4. Managing Others

As we grow in our roles and progress within an organisation, it’s likely that we’ll assume some managerial responsibilities.  How we interact with and manage others therefore becomes an essential requirement.

Modern management is less about absolute control and more about developing the strengths of others through managing their performance and delegating work.  You’re not only looking to make individuals more effective, you also want to build a team of people who can work together. Managing effectively will lead to greater productivity and efficiency for the benefit of the whole business.

Of course, management is more than just giving pep talks. Training in Conflict Resolution will help you deal with conflicts as they arise.  It also teaches you how to channel the tensions that naturally arise to enable people to work together more effectively.  

Better management delivers better efficiency and greater job satisfaction.  Training in Managing Others provides you with the critical skills to get the most from your key asset: your people.

5. Personal Development

As difficult as managing others can be, people often find the hardest thing is managing themselves. Foundation skills training programmes offer modules in key elements of personal development.  The intention behind these modules is to enable employees to feel they’re growing with the organisation and making an effective contribution to it.

Learning skills like Personal Resilience and Time Management makes it easier to deal with the stress and pressure of modern work.  These modules give you the tools to manage yourself better and set your own targets and goals within those of the greater organisation.  They’ll give you the confidence and ability to deal with challenges and take charge of your personal development.

Foundation skills training is often accredited and linked with CPD schemes.  CPD provides formal, public recognition of attainment and extrinsic validation of your development.  But Personal Development offers intrinsic validation too, showing you the way to derive satisfaction in working as part of a team while still fulfilling personal goals.  

Personal Development programmes help develop a cohort of self-sustaining, self-motivating and self-directed employees with a commitment to development and lifelong learning.

6. Diversity and Equality

Employing a policy of diversity can improve general employee well-being.  An equal but diverse workforce can be more inclusive and result in better participation and engagement to the benefit of the entire organisation. Treating employees in a fair, equal, and transparent manner, regardless of their background, gender, beliefs, disability, and so on, is also best business practice.  For employees, it creates a good place to work and encourages existing talent to remain and new talent to join.  

The Diversity and Equality training modules cover legislation and regulation and the need for compliance. They highlight practical ways to ensure enforcement and promote the values and benefits Diversity and Equality bring.  As part of conflict resolution, Diversity and Equality modules tackle how to resolve differences arising from different values and how to promote equality and diversity in their dealings with fellow employees and clients.

Promoting Development

Foundation skills training programmes offer a series of interlinking building blocks that set the foundation for personal and professional development.  They set people on the road to better business literacy.

With these core skills, you ensure that you make the most of the potential of the people in your organisation.  You give them the competencies and the confidence to perform and raise standards across the board.  The benefits include more efficient working and improved performance.  In turn, foundation skills training programmes make your organisation a better place to work and to develop and retain expertise.