Could you be a Skills for Care Accolades winner?

News release 5 July 2012

Nominations are now open for the Skills for Care Accolades 2012/13 celebrating the achievements of the very best adult social care employers in England.

Now in their tenth year the Accolades are the Oscars of the social care world celebrating excellence in workforce development and innovation by employers in eight categories, who also compete for the prestigious Winners of Winners trophy.

Late year's Winner of Winners were Sunnyside House who support people with learning disabilities in Thurrock to live independent lives in their community.

"The team at Sunnyside House were stunned when we won our category, but to win the Winner of Winners award was unbelievable," says Sunnyside House Managing Director Andrew Azzopardi.

"Winning a national award has really helped raise the profile of our business and the My Life programme we run to develop the skills the people we work with will need to have genuine choice and control in their lives.

"It was also a recognition of the huge effort put in by the people we work with to change their lives, and I would recommend any employer to enter as it has had a hugely positive impact across our organisation."

The eight categories are:

1. Best employer of under 250 staff

2. Best employer of over 250 staff

3. Best individual employer who employs their own staff

4. Best provider of learning and development

5. Best employer support for social care Apprenticeships

6. Best employer support for newly qualified social workers

7. Best recruitment initiatives

8. Most effective new approach to service delivery

To find out more about more about the Accolades or to download an entry form go to www.skillsforcare.org.uk/accolades.

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). Both organisations are chaired by Professor David Croisdale-Appleby. 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 1.56 million workers spread over 48,300 establishments employing care staff. 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 area networks are major brokers of funding for social care workforce development.