Dumfries children’s care organisation Applied Care and Development has revamped its training programme and updated staff skills.
The organisation, which has been operating for over two years, provides residential, respite and outreach care for children aged 10-16 years in the care system.
Anne Dermott, operations manager, said: “In order to work with children, staff must be trained in a wide range of subjects, so training has always been a priority for us. We initially dealt with all training in-house, but as the number of staff grew and training requirements changed, we looked at other sources.
“We contacted learndirect scotland for business, and were put in touch with the local training partner, Lindsey Mason.
“Lindsey came out to meet with me and owner Cath Atkin. She spent time going through our business objectives and training requirements, before coming up with a dedicated training programme to fit our budget.
The training programme was very extensive, covering everything from the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), to health and safety, first aid and food hygiene. Anne added: “Getting involved with learndirect scotland for business has made a big difference to our organisation. With their expertise, we were able to source the best online and traditional courses to suit our needs. The flexibility of being able to choose from a range of suppliers has meant we can provide the best for our staff.
“The ECDL has been very valuable, as we are currently computerising our systems. It is essential that all our staff are confident using computers for this to work effectively.
“The first aid course is also extremely useful. Once each member of staff has achieved the first aid training course they are recognised as a qualified first aider, which is an excellent skill to have when working with children.
”As we are an expanding company, taking on additional staff, there is a continuing need to provide and update our training requirements.
“Being able to offer a good selection of training courses is also essential for staff development. It is always our aim to listen to staff and provide them with the training they need and want.”