Within Sunderland City Council (in common with other Local Authorities) Adult Social Care is a large part of our budgets and service delivery, with continued growth in demand projected for future years.
Supporting training and development in the social care workforce is, therefore, a priority for the training function.
Although well established in many organisations and sectors, e-learning is still seen by some as a new approach to training and development. There is often a valid concern that e-learning is potentially difficult for hard-to-reach learners who may have limited ICT skills, and/or reduced access to computer equipment.
The main steps that have helped to change the culture are:
In the period from 1st January 2013 to 30th June 2013, over 50% of City council courses were completed on-line. The social care workforce represents more than 50% of the active users and course completions.
Nearly 20% of our course completions are outside standard office hours. For example, we know that staff in care homes are using free time over the weekend, during the night as well as the day, to complete on-line courses.
At the same time as delivering a more flexible and responsive programme of training, the service has been able to reduce its training costs by more than £100,000 per annum.
This includes direct and indirect costs such as time for attendance at courses, travel time, and cover for absent staff.
To find out more about Learning Pool’s Children’s or Adult Social Care e-learning you can request guest access here, call 0207 101 9383 or email hello@learningpool.com.
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