CWDC £1.5m fund boosts children’s sector skills

The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) is making £1.5 million available to help children’s social care employers through their Increasing Skills in Social Care Fund.

The Fund, which opens on 20 September, funds the workforce to take the Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce, NVQ in Social Care levels 3 or 4 or the NVQ in Leadership and Management for Care Services at Level 4.

The Increasing Skills in Social Care Fund was launched in October 2008 and since then the CWDC has distributed over £5m to social care organisations, supporting over 6,000 employees.

Independent, private and voluntary social care organisations can access funding for staff starting the training between 20 September and 19 November 2010. The fund is also available to all foster care providers registering foster carers to undertake Level 3 qualifications during the same period.

Meanwhile the CWDC has also launched a Skills Framework to support and inform the young people’s workforce. The Skills Development Framework (SDF) aims to support employers across the workforce to cultivate integrated working skills within their organisations.

CWDC are inviting the workforce to join their online forum to discuss practical ways of using the SDF locally and recommend how it can support the development of skills and competences of professionals working with young people.

**The SDF is published here http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/young-peoples-workforce/common-platform-of-skills-and-competences/sdf **