Skills for Care is making over £1m of funding available through the Workforce Development Fund (WDF) to support the learning and development of personal assistants (PAs) and their employers (individual employers).

This funding has been made available by the Department of Health to be disbursed by Skills for Care as one of the priorities highlighted in the White Paper, Caring for our future: reforming care and support. The aim is to use the funding to drive the on-going development of Personal Assistants and their employers by offering grants that are paid up front and includes associated costs, such as replacement/additional PA costs and travel. They state that;

 “We know that around 15% of the adult social care workforce are now personal assistants so targeting the funding in this way will help to improve recruitment, retention and the quality of the care and support delivered,” says Skills for Care CEO Sharon Allen. “It is critical that the people who employ PAs can access funding for learning and development as other employers do and so this fund acknowledges that we need to support, not only the costs of the learning itself, but also the associated costs. Individual employers have told us about the positive benefits of developing the skills and knowledge of their PAs and themselves, so I would urge anyone who is eligible, to apply.”

People aged 18 or over who employ personal assistants in England can apply for grant funding from today until 30 September 2013 to pay for all types of learning and development that meets their needs, including qualifications.

Since November 2012, Skills for Care has disbursed grants that have supported individual employers and their personal assistants to undertake a range of learning including:

• How to be a good employer.
• Level 2, 3 and level 5 diplomas in Health and Social Care.
• Equality and Diversity.
• Professional Boundaries.
• Personalisation and person centred planning.
• First Aid.
• Moving and assisting.
• Safe handling of medicines.
• Stroke, epilepsy, diabetes, dementia and falls awareness.

Individual employers can also use this funding to pay for courses that have been created by learning providers specifically to meet their unique needs.

Skills for Care’s Accolades winner Philip Barton used the funding for his personal assistant to do a Passenger Transport Assistants Training Scheme (PATS). Philip says: ‘the training would help my PA with their career development by giving them relevant transferable skills backed up by a nationally recognised and certified course.’

As with all WDF funding, there are a number of basic criteria that apply:

• The fund can only be accessed by people aged 18 or over who employ and pay for Personal Assistants in England.
• Employers accessing the funding must complete an application form and submit evidence to prove they are an employer.
• All applications must be supported by proof of associated costs.
• The learning and development must be started before 30 September 2013.

The closing date for applications is 30 September 2013 and more details can be found at www.skillsforcare.org.uk/individualemployerskillsfunding.

Ruils is delighted to be able to share with you our new Personal Assistant Training Films. We have created these films as an informal training initiative and they are designed to explore the unique relationship that exists between the Personal Assistant and their Employer whilst conveying key messages and highlighting best-practice.

We have created 5 Films and these include;

• The Role of the PA
• Health and Safety in the Home
• Moving and Assisting
• Working with a Client with Dementia
• Working with a Client with a Learning Disability

View the Films below and let us know what you think………..

http://www.youtube.com/user/RUILSUK