NEW OR EXISTING TALENT?
When it comes to using their levy to invest in apprenticeships and other training, one of the biggest questions for all our clients is whether to use their levy to develop existing staff, or to invest in brand new talent.
This week we’re shining our spotlight on investing in your existing staff.
You might have noticed that apprenticeships have changed! They’re no longer just about young people or brand new staff. Growing your own has lots of incredible benefits and, thanks to Government’s recent apprenticeship changes, you can now use your levy to train existing staff all across your organisation all the way up to your senior managers.
Investing from within is simple really. And, as with most things in life, best explained through a Game of Thrones allegory. Following the death of Maester Aemon, The Night’s Watch agreed to let bumbling steward Samwell Tarly train to replace him. Sam has now travelled to the Citadel to complete his apprenticeship and us GoT fans in the Hart L&D office are convinced that Sam’s learning will be the key to his pal Jon Snow defeating the Night King. But no spoilers please!
We’ve been working with our fabulous client Ramsay Health Care UK since 2014. Over the years, we’ve helped them to develop their apprenticeship programme to train up existing staff and bring in brand new talent.
We sat down with Ramsay’s very own Maester - apprentice mentor Dawn Sumner - about her experience of mentoring an existing staff member through an apprenticeship.
THE LINE MANAGER'S VIEW
Sharon, a level 3 health care assistant apprentice at Ramsay’s Euxton Hall Hospital, was previously working at the hospital as a health care assistant. Sharon’s manager Dawn saw potential in her as a talented health care assistant and suggested the level 3 apprenticeship as an opportunity for career progression.
Dawn says, “Sharon is a talented HCA with the ability to progress. This apprenticeship opportunity was highlighted at her PDR.
“Sharon’s transition to an apprenticeship was easy. She came into the organisation with many transferrable skills which we recognised. We knew that the apprenticeship would allow her to develop them to make more of a positive impact on the organisation.
“On the daily, Sharon assists with pre-operative clinics. She runs her own phlebotomy and MRSA clinics and assists the RGN's with pre-operative assessments and she’s progressing well.
“Sharon’s training has allowed her the confidence and skills to work independently and contribute to the hospital objectives around pre-operative assessment clinics to ensure a smooth patient journey to ensure maintenance of hospital activity.
“I’d recommend training up existing talent in your organisation to ensure the development of your existing staff to their full capability.”
THE HR DIRECTOR'S VIEW
Our friend, Annette Cairns, Ramsay’s Organisational Development Manager, summed up the benefits of investing in existing employees:
“Being able to develop existing staff means that we have the opportunities to build on their existing skills, improve their motivation by giving them the new skills, and new responsibilities which again provides more motivation and a better skills mix.
“We can also show clearer career progression to existing staff based on qualification gateways. Being able to offer these opportunities has made a real difference to the perception of learning and development in the organisation.”
Excited about levelling up your workforce? Now is definitely the time to think about where you should use your levy to invest in talent within your organisation. we’d love to chat about your business needs to help you decide whether to develop existing staff or invest in new talent. You can contact us here.
