Connect2Care recognised as Centre of Excellence by Skills for Care

Leading provider of training and apprenticeships in the healthcare, adult care and early years sectors, Connect2Care, has been awarded the Skills for Care Centre of Excellence certificate for its innovations in learning and development. 

Skills for Care is the strategic body for workforce development in adult social care in England; its endorsement aims to showcase the best learning providers for the adult social care sector. 

The certificate recognises those who go above and beyond, demonstrate exemplary practice, are constantly evolving to meet the needs of adult social care and innovate to ensure the needs of learners are met. 

Connect2Care was commemorated for its commitment to delivering an outstanding service. This includes initiatives such as its Quality Assurance measures, which ensure the integrity of qualifications are maintained in line with internal and external governance; its robust staff development programme; the enriched learning experience for apprentices, whereby they have access to a diverse range of expert trainers and one-on-one mentoring; as well as Connect2Care’s bespoke training offer, developed in response to specific business needs. 

“We’re immensely proud to be recognised for our commitment to learning and development”, says Kirsty Simmonds, Adult Care Lead at Connect2Care.

“Meeting the training needs of adult social care workers in the current climate calls for innovation, which at Connect2Care, is something we are constantly striving towards. In recent months, we’ve developed specific courses to help care workers strengthen their skills and expertise during the pandemic, while ensuring they have the tools to manage their own mental health and support their colleagues through these challenging times.

“This stamp of approval from Skills for Care shows how our training and apprenticeship programmes are helping to make a real difference to the learner and the people they care for, when they need it most.”

As part of Connect2Care’s ongoing commitment to developing its training and apprenticeship programme in line with the changing needs of social care, it recently introduced four new short courses designed to help apprentices deal with the challenges directly associated with the pandemic.

All of Connect2Care’s apprenticeships now contain the following live and online training courses as optional extras within the learning journey:

• Awareness of First Aid and Mental Health: On this course, apprentices will learn how to identify suspected mental health conditions, start a conversation about mental health and signpost a person towards professional help
• Infection Prevention and Control: This course provides delegates with the foundations to limit, control and prevent the spread of infection in the workplace
• Dealing with Loss and Bereavement: For Adult Care apprentices, this course provides the tools to recognise, manage and support the emotions experienced due to loss and bereavement
• How to manage anxiety and burnout: This course helps delegates build resilience skills and coping strategies, along with advice and guidance on signs, symptoms, signposting, and intervention to enable an effective, resilient workforce. 

The courses are suitable for employees of all levels and will provide apprentices with the tools and skills needed to prepare them for the post-COVID-19 future. 

For more information on Connect2Care and upskilling your teams following COVID-19, please visit: https://www.connect2care.net/leave-the-training-to-us