Workforce Development
You will find below links to various documents that may be of interest and this page will be used to carry information about specific workforce developemnt issues, as distinct from general 'training' matters.
21st January Children’s Social Care Workforce - the CWDC has commissioned Action for Children and University of Salford to undertake research to assist it in making recommendations to the DCSF on the future requirements of the children’s social care workforce. A significant part of the research has already taken place and the next stage is four regional events across England with this one being held in Bristol. The event will give participants the opportunity to share their views and experiences and to answer the following key questions:
• Where are the graduates now in the workforce, and what key tasks do they perform?
• What knowledge and skills do they need, and how are they prepared to undertake these tasks?
• What will they be doing in the foreseeable future, where will they be needed, and how should they be prepared?
• What facilitators and barriers are there to achieving the vision for the future, and how will the vision be realised?
Further information is available at: http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/social-care/understanding-the-childrens-social-care-workforce
Consultation on Workforce Induction - The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) is conducting an online survey on the vision and principles for induction to the Children & Young People's Workforce. Achieving a common approach to induction across the Children and Young People's Workforce has been identified as an important goal by the DCSF and the Children's Workforce Network. The Vision and Principles for Induction have been developed to provide the tools to plan, execute and evaluate induction activities across all sectors of the workforce. http://www.snapsurveys.com/swh/surveylogin.asp?k=125984858499
NCVYS Workforce ‘Snippets’ is a monthly bulletin of information on workforce development issues – see http://www.ncvys.org.uk/index.php?page=279
Children England Free Workforce Development Advice Helpline - If you have queries on workforce development call the Workforce Development Advice Helpline for FREE on 0808 168 3820 or email develop@childrenengland.org.uk. The service is more than an advice line. For many, it’s a dedicated service that provides practical help and support in Workforce Development Issues in England. They aim to simplify the complexity and range of demands in workforce development. If they are not able to directly answer your query then they will either research it for you and get back with a response or help direct you to the most relevant source. Children England is committed to helping the children's voluntary sector in England better understand the requirements and regulations now in place and to play a role in influencing key decision makers on any future proposals and changes. www.childrenengland.org.uk
Funding Guide to Workforce Development for the children, young people and families’ VCS – this is the fourth edition of this popular resource published by NCVYS and NAVCA and funded by CWDC and it can be downloaded from http://www.ncvys.org.uk/index.php?page=282
Workforce Development Directory 2008-09 The directory contains a wealth of learning and development opportunities for practitioners working with children and young people across all agencies. http://www.devonchildrenstrust.org.uk/learninganddevelopment/findacourse.html
Championing the children’s workforce: Learning from experience is a publication that showcases six examples of third sector organisations supporting local organisations to join the workforce reform revolution. It came out of the NAVCA/CWDC Champions project that aimed to demonstrate how the sector can overcome barriers to play a positive role in developing the children’s workforce. It includes a piece on VYS (Devon). See: http://www.navca.org.uk/publications/championing/
Induction Steering Group – this is a new group that is looking to ensure that across partner organisations there is a common induction process for all staff. The voluntary sector is represented on the group by Mark Goodman of VYS (Devon) and Jo Wheatley of Young Devon. Documents coming out of the first meeting of the group are as follows: