Project: Care Training East Midlands

As part of its ESF-funded Skills for Jobs programme, Care Training East Midlands delivers successful pre-employment training programmes developed in collaboration with leading facilities and services providers in the care sector. Jobs fairs attract candidates interested in working in care, some of whom are then invited to attend a two-week pre-employment course, at the end of which they are interviewed for available jobs. Alongside the pre-employment courses, Care Training offers a non-employer-led route which includes individual information, advice and guidance (IAG), jobsearching and employability skills, and qualifications training. The project uses an innovative ‘mobile classroom’ portable teaching system that creates a linked network with interactive whiteboard and handheld learner devices to support delivery and assess learner responses during teaching sessions.

Project feature

Employer participation in pre-employment courses provides training tailored to available job opportunities

Care Training East Midlands delivers a number of programmes in the region to support individuals to prepare for and find work. One of their more successful programmes is an ESF-funded project delivering pre-employment training in collaboration with two of the largest care employers in the UK. The care sector is growing even within the current economic environment and, together with these employers, Care Training has devised an effective means of matching suitable applicants with available vacancies. Job fairs are organised on a regular basis and advertised widely through newspapers and community organisations in areas that are local to the job placements. The fairs enable those interested in a care-related career to meet with prospective employers and discuss work in the care sector, offering both prospective employee and employer the chance to find out more about their suitability for work in care professions.

The Care Training information, advice and guidance (IAG) team assess candidates’ needs and abilities, and whether they are suitable candidates for the pre-employment training programme. If they are considered to have suitable skills and/or development potential for the jobs that the employer needs to fill, they are invited to attend a two-week Health and Social Care course that gives a comprehensive overview and initial training in preparation for the work. Sessions include:

• introduction to care; what is a carer
• principles of care; a person-centred approach
• policies, procedures
• multi-disciplinary working
• health and safety; food safety; safety procedures; risk assessment
• legal aspects including understanding diversity, equal opportunities, safeguarding vulnerable adults, Mental Capacity Act and Mental Health Act
• listening and communications skills
• record-keeping and information-sharing, including confidentiality
• appointed persons first aid
• support with completing applications
• interview techniques.

During the programme participants also spend a day visiting a care facility and experiencing a typical job environment. At the end of the programme, they are given an interview for the available positions, having been fully immersed in the information, procedures and work life that the job would entail. It gives the participants a taste of this work, from which they can gauge whether it would be a suitable career path. In addition, they receive employment skills (interview techniques, application completion) that will be of benefit in their search for other work.

Benefits for the employer include a clearer choice of suitable candidates (who have already pre-selected the care sector), ability to place the right person to the right placement, and better staff retention. Benefits to the individual job seeker include a better chance of getting a job, confirmation of interest and suitability in the sector as a career path, improved skills making them a stronger applicant for future jobs should they be unsuccessful in interview, and improved confidence.

If jobseekers are not considered suitable for the pre-employment training course, they are invited to join the programme delivered in-house at the Care Training premises. Participants need to be over 19, UK resident for more than three years, and unemployed for more than twelve months. Initial one-to-one information, advice and guidance (IAG) sessions with a personal adviser result in an individual learning plan to identify appropriate training programmes. Further sessions offer participants the opportunity to take suitable qualifications, and to develop employability skills (CV-writing, interview techniques) and job searching skills. The project’s success reflects the extent of local knowledge (which means their training and jobsearch focus is based on likely job prospects), and their ability to manage participant expectations, helping them identify transferable skills that can be successfully redeployed in sectors containing greatest job opportunities. Strong relationships are built with project participants, and contact is maintained after their exit interview. It’s all about supporting that learner who’s come in from the public towards finding work. ‘I have changed my outlook to jobsearching through Care Training,’ said one learner, who feels she is now in a stronger position to find work.

The Mobile Classroom, created by Bruce Sheeran for Care Training, contains a laptop, projector, printer, speakers, scanner, 15-user remote controls and a dongle, all packaged together in a pilot case. It is designed to enable the tutor to ‘create’ a classroom in any location. Projecting an image on a wall, or any white, flat surface, an eBeam turns this into an interactive whiteboard. Learners each have a remote device and enter their responses on the keypad, producing instant feedback and information to the tutor to which he or she can respond appropriately. This has proven to be a great support to tutors in delivering assessment and vocational training that accurately reflects the needs of people in the group.

Margaret Coyle, a literacy and numeracy tutor, has used the Mobile Classroom to good effect: ‘It’s a fantastic opportunity to take a smartboard with you. It allows you to pre-prepare lessons, to use as a whiteboard, as well as having access to a computer and the internet, through the use of a dongle. The ability to use a myriad of resources “off site” allows you to explore more avenues, methods and strategies to engage hard to reach students, through technology and the internet.’

Contact details

Rachel Knight, Marketing Assistant
Care Training East Midlands (CTEM)
Clinton House 2–4 Clinton Terrace, Derby Road Nottingham , NG7 1LY
Tel: (0115) 959 9544 Fax: (0115) 950 7677
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