We are continually looking at how we can improve and expand our services within the health sector, but we are still in the early stages of understanding how this applies to voluntary organisations.
A joint project with the charity Abbeyfield UK gave us a chance to see how effective our competences are within the voluntary sector. Work was directly centred round Abbeyfield UK (Nottingham) which has nursing care homes, care homes and supportive houses for older people throughout the city. Our work will allow Abbeyfield to see what skills are required from new volunteers in the future.
We looked at a variety of roles within the organisation and applied National Occupational Standards for the Management of Volunteers. This helped Abbeyfield describe the diversity of competences required - such as recruiting, inducting and managing volunteers, through to the reporting to external agencies - and will prove useful for succession planning, a vital aspect of managing voluntary organisations.
Our findings have contributed to the draft revised National Occupational Standards (NOS) for the Management of Volunteers from a health and social care perspective. We are delighted that what we've learned can be applied to voluntary organisations across the UK countries.
"The contribution made by volunteers to support the work of Abbeyfield UK is invaluable. We very much welcome the opportunity for support from our SSCs to help us develop and enhance the working relationships between our volunteers and paid staff. National Occupational Standards reflecting the varied roles of our volunteers will provide a clear and professional framework for volunteers and paid staff to work effectively together."
Lesley Garrett
Regional Care Services Manager, Abbeyfield UK
We see greater engagement with voluntary based organisations as a vital part of our remit to represent the whole health sector. In an East Midlands SSA consultation event delegates told us that they want to see greater engagement with independent and voluntary sector employers, to increase development opportunities. As the third sector grows in importance in delivery of health care services, we will play our part to make sure the employer voice is heard.
In Northern Ireland, for the first time, we now have a comprehensive picture of the skills gaps and shortages, and future training and development aspirations in the voluntary and community sector.
The NI Voluntary and Community Sector Skills Survey (2008) published by the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA), and supported by participating Sector Skills Councils (SSCs), including Skills for Health, is unique because it is the first time that so many SSCs have worked together to help create a strategic and coordinated approach to skills development in the sector.
Our research showed that we need to create strong links between the SSCs and the voluntary and community sector if all parties are to work together effectively and the sector is to have a coherent voice in terms of skills development, no matter what new structures are put in place.
We intend to move it forward by collectively working as a voluntary sector sub-group as part of Skills for Business Network in Northern Ireland to address collaboratively the issues that have arisen.
