What does the Workforce Development Fund mean for your team’s training?

Skills for Care have released this year’s Workforce Development Fund (WDF). The purpose of the fund is to support the provision of high-quality care, and the continuing professional development (CPD) of staff across the adult social care sector. But how can the fund support your leadership team’s professional development?  

Well, in short, the fund is available for you to tap into to train your leaders. You will be able to claim back money towards the costs of your leadership team completing either our Well Led or Lead to Succeed courses.  

What are the benefits of the WDF?

While saving on training costs is the most obvious benefit of the fund, there is plenty more. In 2018/19 an independent evaluation was carried out to determine what benefits employers felt they got from tapping into the fund. The evaluation highlighted that those employers were able to improve the quality of care they provided as a direct consequence of the WDF – and after all, isn’t that what we all want, to provide the best quality care possible?  

Employers also reported that they were able to more effectively meet the specialist or personalised needs of the people who receive their care or support. And if you’re still not sold on the benefits of the fund, it was also reported that the fund can help employers plug skills gaps and boost staff morale.

If like many care providers, you are looking to develop your leadership team but struggle with the ongoing budgets constraints, then utilising the fund could be the perfect solution. As part of the fund, our customers will be able to signpost their leadership team onto either our Well Led or Lead to Success courses, and then claim back money towards the costs. Money can only be claimed back once learners have completed the qualification, and evidence of the learner’s certificate is provided.  

Both our Well Led and Lead to Succeed support your leadership teams to grow and enhance their leadership skills, helping them learn and develop into more senior roles.  

You can find more information about the fund and what qualifications are available as part of the fund here.