Skills for Care launch consultation to refresh Common Induction Standards

News release 29 January 2010, Ref 03/10

Skills for Care have launched an online consultation with England's 35,000 adult social care employers to refresh the hugely popular Common Induction Standards (CIS).

The CIS are now the gold standard for induction with the vast majority of new starters completing the standards in their workplaces.

The standards support workers to offer high quality care and support to people who use services, recognise their work as they begin a new career and prepare them for entry onto adult health and social care qualification programmes.

But the existing CIS were created five years ago and given the huge changes in the adult social care sector Skills for Care are consulting with employers to make sure the CIS are still relevant to the needs of 1.5 million adult social care workers.

As the Qualifications and Credit Framework is introduced Skills for Care are redeveloping all adult social care qualifications and the current generic Health and Social Care NVQs will be replaced by the Health and Social Care (HSC) Diplomas.

The refreshed CIS will reflect the HSC Diploma requirements, the General Social Care Council Codes of Practice, the Common Core Principles for Self Care and other good practice guidelines.

"I have always been proud that national induction standards were one of the first products employers decided their workforce development body should provide for the sector," says Skills for Care CEO Andrea Rowe.

"The CIS have proved hugely popular with employers and employees alike but we would be failing in our duty as a social care workforce development agency if we didn't revisit the standards periodically to make sure they are fit for purpose."

"There is no doubt that the CIS are now the recognised tool to make sure new entrants to our sector hit the ground running but if they are to remain relevant then we need as many employers as possible to tell what they want the refreshed CIS to look like."

To take part in the consultation which closes on March 12^th then all you have to do is visit www.skillsforcare.org.uk/consultations.

Media enquiries:

Paul Clarke: 0113 2411297/ 07977519287. paul.clarke@skillsforcare.org.uk

Notes to editors:

1. Skills for Care is the employment-led strategic body for workforce development in adult social care in England, which is licensed jointly with its UK allies by UKCES to be the 'Skills for Care and Development' Sector Skills Council (SSC). The other members of the SSC are the Children's Workforce Development Council (also for England), the General Social Care Council, the Scottish Social Services Council, the Care Council for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Social Care Council.
2. Skills for Care forms a strategic overview of workforce needs in adult social care, which accounts for nearly 1.5 million workers or 5 per cent of England's workforce, spread over more than 35,000 employers. Skills for Care members are drawn from groups representing public, private and voluntary sector care employers, along with representatives of staff, trainers, service users and informal carers. Social care includes residential care, domiciliary care and social work with all its specialisms.
3. Skills for Care and its SSC allies promote and develop the social care sector's National Occupational Standards which are statements of competence that describe 'best practice'.
4. Skills for Care regional committees are major brokers of funding for social care workforce development.