Individual employer skills funding now available

Individual employers (people who directly employ their care or support staff) are now able to apply for funding directly from Skills for Care to support the full costs of training and development for themselves and their personal assistants.

Skills for Care will fund any training, development or qualifications that demonstrate value for money and meet the needs of the individual employer and their personal assistants.

You can apply for funding now. It will be allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis between now and 31 March 2013. Make sure you apply early so you don’t miss out.

For more information and an application form visit: http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/funding/Individualemployerskillsfunding/Individual_employer_skills_funding.aspx

Practical guide to successful working relationships

Skills for Care has developed a practical guide to successful working relationships between individual employers and their personal assistants, carers and support workers. The Partnerships for personalisation guide is based on the research report Personalisation and partnership (2011) which focused on what factors disabled people feel are important in their relationships with their personal assistants, carers and support workers.

The guide will help individual employers think about:

• their definition of what a successful working partnership could or should be
• ways of working out what sort of person they are looking for
• how they want the personal assistant to be able to provide a good quality service.

It also aims to help potential personal assistants have a better understanding of what qualities may be required of them to support a good working relationship.

To download the guide and for more information visit: www.skillsforcare.org.uk/individualemployers