Access for all
The Joint Investment Framework (JIF) team scoops a runners-up award in the prestigious 2009 East of England Health and Social Care Awards.
THE team’s success in the regional category: ‘Improving Lives; Saving Lives’ was recognised during a glittering awards ceremony at Stock Brook Manor, Billericay, Essex on 20 May.
Created to open up training opportunities to pre-professional staff in Bands 1 – 4, the JIF is a rolling three-year collaboration between strategic health authorities, Learning and Skills Councils (LSC) and Skills for Health. In the Eastern region this translates to £22.4 million of funding for apprenticeships, skills for life and NVQs in levels 2 – 4, over three years until 2010, working with over 4,000 staff to date.
Support for staff
Education, Research and Development Lead NHS East of England Professor Mike Cook explains: “Traditionally, staff in Bands 1 – 4 have had less opportunity when it comes to career development and training. This project was designed to support these members of staff in further developing their skills in literacy and numeracy as well as helping them work towards a skills’ level equal to five good GCSEs.”
Significant investment
East of England NHS employers have pledged to support their employees in developing literacy and numeracy skills and, to achieve this, launched the very first regional Sector Skills Agreement in the country, with the LSC and Skills for Health.
An investment of £10million a year over two years has been agreed between the LSC and NHS East of England for this initiative, with the expectation that employers recognise the value of this investment and all partners agree ways to continue this investment.
Explaining the effects of the training opportunities opened up by JIF, Mike says: “Enhancing the skills of staff in Bands 1 – 4 contributes to achieving the east of England healthcare vision ‘Towards the best, together’. This also has a positive effect on staff morale, inspires achievement and increases aspirations – and of course ultimately leads to the delivery of improved services to patients.”
With the commitment to workforce development, the JIF supports a 'Skills Pledges'; a commitment from employers to invest in the skills development of healthcare staff working in Bands 1 – 4. It is great news that all NHS employers in the east of England have declared their commitment to this important part of the workforce by signing the pledge.
For further information please contact Sean McLoughlin, Project Manager for Joint Investment Framework (JIF), NHS East of England. Tel 01449 723 432 Mob 07941 189 403 e-mail: sean.mcloughlin@eoe.nhs.uk
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Case Study - Ipswich Hospital
Tracey Risebrow, Pre-Professional Lead and Union Learning Rep, Ipswich Hospital
Ipswich hospital started working with the Train to Gain (TTG) and JIF team in 2007. We had a meeting with NHS East of England and the skills brokerage company to look at how our organisation could benefit from this initiative.
What became clear from this meeting was how much flexibility there is in the available funding and how enthusiastic the team was.
A need was identified within our HSDU department for a number of NVQs at level 3 in decontamination, this was fully funded by the TTG/JIF along with two assessor awards to enable this training to be eventually delivered in house. We then decided to focus our efforts on our admin support staff that traditionally have had very little training monies.
We now have a large group of people undertaking qualifications and courses ranging from shorthand to foundation degrees. Having this funding has enabled us to support individuals towards reaching their full potential as well as making them feel valued.
There is a ‘buzz’ about the place as managers realise they are able to offer this group of staff training and development. None of this would have been possible without the constant support and help from the TTG and JIF team.