Care-home business boosts employees’ self-esteem

Article Type: Notes and news From: Industrial and Commercial Training, Volume 42, Issue 3

One of the UK’s largest providers of care to the elderly is training its carers in literacy, numeracy, communication, health and safety, equality and diversity and the prevention of abuse.

The Bupa Care Homes Stars (systematic training, achievement, retention and success) program integrates Skills for Life awards, National Vocational Qualifications and apprenticeships, to increase opportunities for all.

Bupa has joined forces with NVQUK and the National Employer Service to offer the program, which was developed not only to improve the skills, status and self-esteem of carers, but also to improve employee-retention rates.

James Clegg, Bupa’s head of people development, said: “Stars has broken the mould for NVQ, apprenticeship and Skills for Life training in the care industry. The success rates for learners are unprecedented. Skills for Life achievements are running at over 85 percent and we have given this opportunity to more than 700 of our people over the last three years.

“These figures represent human success stories, potential tapped, doors opened and real opportunity created. There is not merely approval of Stars in the care homes but also genuine excitement that so many of the drawbacks of the traditional NVQ model have been removed, while the quality of the experience has been dramatically improved.”