Money For Training

If you employ your own PAs, either through social care funding (direct payment) or with your own money, you can apply for money for training from Skills for Care for training for yourself and your staff.Applications for funding close on Tuesday 28 February 2017 so make sure you don’t miss out and send your completed application form and all necessary documents to Skills for Care before then.

What can I use the money for?

You can use this money to pay for training for yourself, to help you as an employer, or to develop the skills of your PAs. The fund can cover the costs of training and qualifications, travel and the cost of hiring replacement support.  It could be used for a lots of different training courses and qualifications including:

• Communication skills
• British sign language
• First aid
• Health and safety
• Condition specific training such as dementia or autism awareness
• Health and Social Care Diplomas.

More examples are available to download here, but you should remember this isn’t everything and that all applications are considered on a case-by-case basis.

How to apply

You can find out more about the funding and download the application form from the Skills for Care website.You can read the guidance document here, and download the application form here. You can get both documents in easy read versions from the website.

What others said about the funding

In 2015-16 this funding paid for 839 qualifications and courses for 576 personal assistants and 106 individual employers.Hear from Kelly, a PA who did training through Skills for Care funding:“When I became a PA, I had no previous experience or qualifications. However my employer, Mrs Wright, applied for funding from Skills for Care that allowed me and my colleagues to do training that was specifically tailored to Mrs Wright’s care needs. I was very nervous when I first started training as it was out of my comfort zone. However, applying for the funding meant the training was personalised and the tutors made me feel very comfortable and supported. The tutors would also come to my place of work, which was brilliant as this meant we could do training around our shifts and there was no need to find PAs to cover. When I first started as a PA, I knew what dementia was but I didn’t fully understand the different types.The training has helped me to feel more confident when providing care for Mrs Wright and consider different ways in which I can support her.”

Important information

• Skills for Care does not directly arrange the training.
• Training must be started by 31 March 2017.
• If an application is successful, Skills for Care will usually notify the individual employer within 30 days and arrange payment directly into their bank account.

Further information

There is lots of information and guidance about employing PAs, and working as a PA on the Skills for Care information hub for individual employers and personal assistants.

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