Skills For Care Guide For People Who Employ Their Own Staff

A Skills for Care guide to:

Creating a skilled social care workforce for individual employers employing their own care and support staff

 High quality care

 Over 160,000 people across England are now employing personal assistants (PAs) to provide care and support for themselves or a loved one.  With the benefits and flexibility of employing your own staff comes the responsibility of being an employer.

Personal assistants are a growing workforce and the need to train and develop them is becoming even more important. Apprenticeships provide a comprehensive way to do this, leading to a highly skilled and motivated workforce.

An Apprenticeship is a combination of on and off the job training and learning, available for people of all ages. Apprenticeships are not just for young people but for all ages and allow apprentices to develop skills in a real working environment.

Apprenticeships are available for your existing staff and can also be used as an opportunity to recruit new PAs and develop them for a permanent position. You can get financial and practical support to run an Apprenticeship programme.

This guide provides more information on Apprenticeships, the benefits of the programme and how you can support an Apprentice.

 “You can’t teach someone to care but you can train them, give them new skills and a qualification to be proud of” Individual employer

 How will I benefit from employing an Apprentice?

•  Apprenticeships provide a cost effective way to improve the skills of you PAs.
•  You can create and manage a completely tailored Apprenticeship programme to   meet your needs.
•  You can benefit from a motivated, knowledgeable and competent worker.
•  Training and development support and government funding is available to support your Apprenticeship programme.
•  The flexible programme provides an opportunity to highlight any issues about competence or skills needs and enables the apprentice to address these.

 “Since doing the Apprenticeship all tasks undertaken by my PAs are being completed properly, following the legal requirements. I have more confidence in their abilities when at work” Individual employer

 For more information on the benefits, including those for the apprentice, please see Skills for Care’s guide for employers implementing social care Apprenticeships: www.skillsforcare.org.uk/apprenticeshipsguide

How does an Apprenticeship work?

The Apprenticeship in Health and Social Care is available to anyone over 16 years with no upper age limit.

There are two types of Apprenticeships available:

• Intermediate level Apprenticeship in Health and Social Care
• Advanced level Apprenticeship in Health and Social Care

Most Apprenticeships last between one and two years with a combination of ‘off- the-job’ learning and ‘on-the-job’ training.

Employers can partner with learning providers directly or via a support organisation/network* or Apprenticeship Training Agency to create programmes that are tailored to meet your needs. The learning provider will look after all of the administrative aspects of the study programme.

* User led organisations, Direct Payments Support Organisations and other networks will be referred to as support organisations/networks throughout this document.

Assessment is done in the workplace whilst the apprentice performs their job. The delivery of new skills or knowledge is done at college with a learning provider or can be done at the workplace but ‘off-the-job’.

 “The delivery of the Apprenticeship has been tailored to my individual needs and the optional units of study have helped my PA focus on what’s important to me” Individual employer

 Apprentices are expected to be contracted to work a minimum of 30 hours per week. There are a number of solutions however if your PA is not required for 30 hours:

• You can share an apprentice with another employer(s) to make up the hours, providing one employer holds the main contract of employment.
• You can contact the Skills Funding Agency (who direct Apprenticeship funding) and seek an exemption (this is done on an individual basis based on your circumstances).
• You can use an Apprenticeship Training Agency (ATA) who will manage and employ the apprentice whilst hiring them out to you as the ‘host employer’. This enables you to offer a placement to the apprentice for the duration of the Apprenticeship and beyond.

Like all employees, apprentices must still receive a wage. The National Minimum Wage for apprentices is £2.65 per hour from 1 October 2012. However as skills develop, many employers tend to increase the wages.

How do I pay for an apprentice?

Government funding varies for Apprenticeships.

The National Apprenticeship Service will match employer’s commitment to hiring apprentices by covering in full (or in part) the training costs. This is paid directly to the organisation that provides and supports the Apprenticeship - in most cases this will be a learning provider.

To find out what is currently available, please visit the National Apprenticeship Service website www.apprenticeships.org.uk

Some or all of the training fee and other related costs such as PA cover may be funded retrospectively via Skills for Care’s Workforce Development Fund.

To access the Workforce Development Fund (WDF) you will need to:

• Join a partnership
• Complete or update your location record in the National Minimum Data Set for Social Care (NMDS-SC). 
• Claim funding for completed acceptable qualification units. 

For more information on this funding and how to access it visit www.skillsforcare.org.uk/wdf or contact your local Skills for Care Area Officer www.skillsforcare.org.uk/areas

“My PA is more committed to training and development since accessing an Apprenticeship” Individual employer

How is the Apprenticeship programme run? 

Case study example

“The Apprenticeship scheme is just perfect for training your staff. They have picked up, in my experience, a lot of useful skills and have made my life a lot easier.” Rory Moss, individual employer

Rory has created his own bespoke Apprenticeship programme for his team of personal assistants (PAs) with support from his local direct payments support service, Cheshire Centre for Independent Living (CCIL).

Rory has worked in partnership with CCIL and his chosen training provider to create a successful Apprenticeship programme which is tailored to his individual needs and the needs of his apprentice.

CCIL supported Rory to find and communicate with local training providers and to develop a flexible Apprenticeship which fits in around his day to day life.

How will I find an apprentice?

You may identify an existing employee as a potential apprentice. If not there are a number of resources available to help.

Skills for Care has developed a comprehensive toolkit to help people employ their own personal assistants, which includes information on how to recruit staff. The toolkit appendices include sample documents such as interviews questions, contracts of employment and risk assessments. To view the toolkit visit www.skillsforcare.org.uk/recruitment.

If you are recruiting a new apprentice, it is recommended that Skills for Care’s selection and recruitment processes are followed and that the potential apprentice (new or existing) be assessed by the learning provider to ensure they will be able to complete the Apprenticeship framework. It is also recommended that an Apprenticeship agreement is signed.

The National Apprenticeship Service is a free service for employers to advertise their vacancies and for potential apprentices to search and apply for vacancies. Training providers can also be sourced from this website though the list provided is not conclusive. Visit their website at www.apprenticeships.org.uk

Support organisations/networks may also support you with recruitment.  Apprenticeship Training Agencies will recruit the apprentice and assume responsibility as the employer.

How to get started

Every Apprenticeship programme is different to meet the needs of the individual employer, the apprentice and the demands of the role. There are three main approaches to getting started:

• You can identify an existing member of staff to undertake an Apprenticeship programme or recruit a new apprentice and source Apprenticeship training yourself. Detailed guidance and advice on how you can set up an Apprenticeship programme is available from a variety of sources, including the National Apprenticeship Service www.apprenticeships.org.uk. Training providers can also be sourced from this website though the list provided is not conclusive.
•  If you have access to a support organisation/network, an advisor may be able to help you. The support offered varies geographically and between organisations but may include funding, recruitment, selecting learning providers and managing payroll.
•  You can use an Apprenticeship Training Association (ATA). There is a cost for this service however an ATA will:
• support you with recruitment
• assume responsibility as the employer for wages, tax, national insurance, administration and performance management
• arrange the training, coordinate the programme and supervise the apprentice
• look to place an apprentice between employers, thus fulfilling the 30 hours minimum contracted hours requirement
• work with you to source a replacement should your apprentice leave.

The National Apprenticeship Service has details on their website for you to search for one in your area.

“The Apprenticeship has enabled my PA to fully understand her responsibilities.  I feel she has gained a great deal of knowledge from her Apprenticeship and is using this to enhance our care at home. I would find it useful to let my other PAs do an Apprenticeship as I feel the training is paramount to the role” Individual Employer, Bristol

Top tips on running a successful Apprenticeship programme

• It is recommended that the Apprenticeship programme is delivered via a collaborative approach between the apprentice, learning provider, and yourself (this might include a support organisation/network or Apprenticeship Training Association (ATA) where appropriate). Effective communication is central to a quality Apprenticeship.
• Select an appropriate learning provider who will run a quality Apprenticeship programme that is flexible in design and delivery to meet your needs. A support organisation/network or ATA may be able to assist you with the process, or potentially make the selection for you. The Care Training Codes developed by Skills for Care support employers to make an appropriate selection www.skillsforcare.org.uk/qualifications_and_training/caretrainingcodes/caretrainingcodes.aspx
•  It is advisable to support your apprentice with a mentor. This is generally a more experienced person who helps to guide the apprentice. It could provide a development opportunity for an existing member of staff or for somebody who has already completed an Apprenticeship. You may wish to adopt this role yourself. In addition, your support organisation/network or ATA may be able to assist in finding an appropriate person.
• If you employ other personal assistants, let them know what the Apprenticeship is about. They can support the apprentice and a great spin-off benefit of running an Apprenticeship programme is the opportunity it presents for existing staff to learn about new techniques and practices as the apprentices share their new learning.
• You are encouraged to agree with your training provider how the programme will be managed (this might also include a support organisation or network where applicable). For example, how will the assessments taking place in your home be managed in terms of agreeing flexible times and minimising the disruption for you? Will the apprentice undertake the training in their own time? Does the apprentice have transport to attend training? Who will look after you while your apprentice is training?

Useful resources and contacts

Skills for Care

Web: www.skillsforcare.org.uk

Email: info@skillsforcare.org.uk

Phone: 0113 245 1716

National Apprenticeship Service

Web: www.apprenticeships.org.uk

Phone: 08000 150 600

Skills Funding Agency

Web: http://skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk/

Email: info@skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk

Phone: 0845 377 5000

Publications

Hard copies of the following documents mentioned in this guide can be ordered by emailing marketing@skillsforcare.org.uk or calling 0113 245 1716

Apprenticeship employer guide

– A guide for employers implementing social care Apprenticeships (please note: delivery models in section three may vary)

Personal assistant toolkit

– A toolkit to help people employ their own personal assistants

Care Training Codes

– A guide to help anyone who may need to buy in training for their own staff

Other useful publications can be found at: www.skillsforcare.org.uk/individualemployers

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to the following people for their contribution in developing this guide:

Nikki Watson Compass Disability Services

Sarah Bryson WECIL Ltd

Jackie Taylor HCPA Ltd

Jonathan Taylor Cheshire Centre for Independent Living

Louise Whitley Suffolk Brokerage