Our care training centre in Cambridgeshire is celebrating having seen its facilities become officially endorsed by Skills for Care – an organisation that looks to ensure high standards of care training across the sector.
AVC Training, near Doddington, has been officially endorsed following an in-depth assessment of its facilities by Skills for Care – a care sector charity that works towards creating a well-led, skilled and valued adult social care workforce.
The endorsement provides a mark of quality which evidences that the training delivered at AVC Training makes a significant difference to both the learner and the recipient of care – at a time for the industry when training and learning has never been more important.
State of the art and purpose built, AVC Training delivers its courses throughout the year, while also allowing external care trainers to use the facilities to present their own training courses. External trainers who use the facilities will also benefit from Skills for Care endorsement, which serves to underline excellence.
Michelle Barker, AVC Training and Development Manager, commented on the endorsement: “It’s fantastic recognition of the hard work we’ve put in to develop our training programmes to ensure the highest of standards. Skills for Care endorsement is a mark of approval that conveys the fact we deliver worthwhile training that makes a difference – not just to those who undertake it, but those who then receive the subsequent care. Our focus is on learning – not just training – and Skills for Care recognition emphasises this. We’re very proud to have achieved it.”
She added: “For anyone looking for quality training, it also allows them to easily determine that we have what’s needed on-site. Not only that, by choosing to train with us, it means trainees can also say they use Skills for Care endorsed facilities – thereby reinforcing the quality of their own offering.”
The endorsement involved AVC Training submitting a detailed application that provided evidence of leadership and management, quality assurance, commitment to staff development, work with learners and quality programme content. Skills for Care then appraised the entry over the course of a month before pronouncing whether its stringent requirements had been met.
With that having been determined, AVC Training is now included in the Skills for Care learning provider directory, which is widely used by employers looking to commission high quality training.
Michelle said: “The ethos at AVC Training is focused on delivering person-centred care – an approach that’s extended to encompass the entirety of the community here, including our staff. With the advent of COVID-19 and the subsequent challenges, a tempting option would’ve been to turn to e-learning to deliver our training. However, we wanted to maintain the person-centred approach, and this required new skills and new energies from our trainers to deliver the same level of quality as face-to-face learning. Although restrictions are in place, we’ve managed to do this exceptionally well so far – and this is reflected in our endorsement.”
She added: “Along with the wonderful staff at AVC Training, we’d also like to thank Karen Andrews at Skills for Care. Her support along the journey served to reinforce how committed the organisation is to its mission and really helped us to determine what was needed to achieve the requirements.”
AVC Training’s Skills for Care endorsement highlights the wealth of training and career development opportunities offered by a job in the care sector. With economic uncertainty and many people having to re-evaluate their careers in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, there’s always a need for care workers. Combined with record investment in the sector and a growing demand for its services, there’s no better time to join social care
Michelle Barker concluded: “Care is a fabulously diverse sector that embraces people from all backgrounds. As an industry, there’s so much opportunity for progression and personal development. Here at AVC Training, we’re keen to welcome anyone who’s considering a career change.”