This article will explain the various responsibilities an electrician may have, how to become an electrician and the qualifications required, the skills you need to have and how to develop your career as an electrician.

What Does an Electrician Do?

Electricians work with any equipment, wire or machine that uses energy. They install, inspect, test and repair electrical equipment to ensure that it works correctly and safely. 

On a daily basis, and depending on what type of electrician you are, you may be responsible for:

• Installing wires, sockets and switches in properties.
• Carrying out the necessary checks of electrical systems to ensure they’re safe and working efficiently.
• Designing electrical and lighting plans for new properties.
• Installing, checking or repairing street lighting and traffic management systems.
• Rewiring residential buildings and other properties.
• Constructing and installing control panels. 
• Carrying out repairs to electric machines.

Depending on your specific duties, you may work at a client’s home, offices, schools, shops, other buildings, on a construction site or outside, if involved with traffic management systems or street lighting. You may work alongside others, carry out lone working, work in confined spaces or work at height. To ensure you are kept safe and healthy, you may need to wear personal protective equipment. The working hours can vary, but are typically between 30 and 40 hours a week. There are different types of electricians and so you need to understand which position you would like to pursue.

What Qualifications Does an Electrician Need?

To develop a career as an electrician, you can take several different routes. You may be eligible for courses at colleges or those offered by other training providers. Alternatively, you could learn on the job through an apprenticeship which combines practical work experience with classroom style learning. If you have transferable skills, such as experience working in construction and trades, you could retrain as an electrician. Note that if you want to become more specialised as an electrician, you will need to undergo additional training and, in some cases, gain further qualifications.

You will likely have better job and earning prospects if you follow an industry-approved training route to become a qualified electrician. As these courses are of a high standard, completing them shows that you meet these standards and are skilled. Examples of industry-improved training includes training courses offered by City & Guilds, EAL and apprenticeships. It’s important that you carry out your own research into which route is the best for you to take.

College

To provide you with an introductory level of understanding and practical skills for the role of an electrician, you may want to take a college course. Alongside this, you must undergo practical training in a workplace to become a fully qualified electrician. On completion of a college course, you may find it supports you to secure an apprenticeship or trainee position to further your career prospects.

Courses available at a college or other training provider may include the following, as listed on the National Careers Service and Go Construct websites:

• Level 2 Diploma in Access to Building Services Engineering (Electrical)
• City & Guilds Level 2 Diploma in Building Services (Electrical Installation route) or EAL Level 2 Intermediate Diploma in Electrical Installation
• City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma in Building Services (Electrical Installation route) or EAL Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Electrical Installation
• T Level in Building Services Engineering for Construction

You will need to check the entry requirements for the course you want to take. Usually, you need to have:

• For a Level 2 course, 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent.
• For a Level 3 course, 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent.
• For a T Level course, 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and Maths.

You can find out more about college courses and T Levels through the links below:

• Find a course | National Careers Service
• T Levels | The Next Level Qualification

On completion of a college course, you will need to work in the industry to become a fully qualified electrician. You will either need to find employment and join an apprenticeship programme, or find employment or become self-employed and take the City & Guilds or EAL’s Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Installing Electrotechnical Systems & Equipment (Buildings, Structures & the Environment). Whichever route you take, you must then pass the AM2 assessment to become fully qualified.

Apprenticeships

Electrician apprenticeships include a combination of on-the-job training and learning at a college or training provider, though they tend to involve more practical training than classroom-based learning. You will be fully employed by your company and work at least 30 hours per week.

Options include a domestic electrician advanced apprenticeship (level 3), an installation and maintenance electrician advanced apprenticeship (level 3) or an electrician apprenticeship with the armed forces. Both the domestic and the installation and maintenance apprenticeships are equivalent to A level and eligible for government funding. The domestic electrician apprenticeship will teach you how to install and maintain electrical services within a domestic setting, while the installation and maintenance electrician apprenticeship will teach you how to do so in industrial and commercial environments, as well as residential. 

If you want to join the British Army and train as an electrician, you can do so as a Royal Engineer soldier. You will firstly undergo initial military training as a Junior or Regular Soldier for either 14 or 23 weeks. Following this, you will attend the Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment for 12 weeks and then finish with a 33 week course at the Royal School of Military Engineering. Similarly, the Royal Air Force offers the Level 3 Engineering Technician – Mechatronics Maintenance Technician (Electrical) apprenticeship. This teaches you how to design, build, service and repair a range of engineering products and services.

You usually need to have 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and Maths, for an advanced apprenticeship. If you want to gain your training in the British Army, you need to have GCSE grade 9 to 5 (or A to C) in Maths, GCSE grade 9 to 4 (or A to C) in English Language and one other subject. For the RAF’s apprenticeship, you need to have GCSE grade C/4 in English Language, Maths and an approved Science/Technology-based subject. Both the Army and the RAF require applicants to meet additional criteria. You must pass the basic physical fitness assessment to be eligible for the British Army’s apprenticeship. The RAF also requires applicants to pass a fitness test and the Defence Aptitude Assessment in addition.

To find out more about apprenticeships that are available near you, follow the links below:

• Gov.uk: Become an apprentice
• Gov.uk: Find an apprenticeship
• Apprentice Training Course – Domestic Electrician
• Apprenticeship Training Course – Installation and Maintenance Electrician
• Electrician – Royal Engineers
• Electrician – Royal Air Force

Essential Qualifications

To fully qualify as an electrician, there are some essential qualifications which you must hold. You need to complete the Achievement Measurement 2 (AM2) assessment which is an industry-recognised competence which proves your practical electrical skills. The test is administered by the National Electrotechnical Training (NET) and is usually the final component of your electrical qualification. You can find out more about the assessment on the NET’s website.
In addition, there are some criteria which you need to meet depending on your circumstances. If you want to work with electrical wiring it is essential that you have normal colour vision. You will have to pass a colour vision assessment test to verify this. If you are going to be carrying out work on a construction site, you may need to hold an Electrotechnical Certification Scheme (ECS) card. The card accredits your electrotechnical qualifications and experience.

Awareness Training

Before you decide to pursue a career as an electrician, it’s important that you understand what the job can involve and know that it is the career path you want to take. During your training to become an electrician, you may want to take an awareness level course to build on your practical knowledge. Awareness courses are also useful if you want to learn more about an industry.

Looking for a Course?

Our Electrical Safety Training online course is designed to give you an understanding of the main risks and necessary controls for the safe use of electricity at work. If you will be working with portable appliances, you may also benefit from High Speed Training’s Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) course.

Alongside electrical safety and PAT awareness training, you may find general health and safety training to be useful. We offer a range of online training courses that may be suitable for an electrician to improve their knowledge and skills alongside their practical training. Courses include: 

• Health and Safety Training for Employees
• Working at Height
• Lone Working
• Working in Confined Spaces
• PUWER Training
• Lock Out/Tag Out
• Ladder Safety
• Manual Handling 
• Workplace First Aid

What Skills Do You Need to be an Electrician?

Before pursuing this career, you should consider whether you will be a good fit for a career which can involve manual, demanding work and long hours. You need to have a range of skills to be successful as an electrician, including hard skills which are specific to the job role and gained through training, and soft skills which are relevant to various industries.

Hard Skills for Electricians

You need to have or be working to develop the following technical skills to be an electrician:

• Ability to use, maintain and repair electrical equipment, machinery and tools.
• Knowledge of engineering science, technology, design, building and construction. 
• Specialist knowledge of your area of expertise. For example, understanding of specific equipment maintenance. 
• Strong maths skills.
• Ability to work well with your hands.
• Good levels of physical fitness.
• Ability to complete basic computer-based tasks and use software packages.

You will develop many of these skills during practical training. However, for some, you may find it useful to take additional training to supplement this. For example, depending on the type of electrician you are training as, you may find Working at Height or PUWER Training awareness courses beneficial.

Soft Skills for Electricians

Alongside your technical capabilities, you also need to have certain soft skills to be a successful electrician. Examples of soft skills that make a good electrician include:

• Excellent attention to detail and ability to be thorough.
• Strong initiative. 
• Analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Customer service skills.
• Strong verbal communication skills.
• Active listening.
• Confident working well independently and as part of a team.
• Adaptability to changes requested by clients or required by circumstances.
• Good time management.

Want to Learn More?

High Speed Training’s comprehensive catalogue of articles can help you to understand and develop your soft skills to become an effective electrician. You can learn about communicating effectively in What is Effective Communication in Construction? which is tailored to those working in the construction industry but will be useful for electricians in all sectors. Our How to Improve Active Listening in Communication article explains the benefits of listening with focused intent which can result in more effective interactions with colleagues and clients. You may also want to improve your time management skills with our One Week Time Management Plan: Three Famous Techniques article.

How to Get a Career as an Electrician

There are various routes that you can take to get a career as an electrician, including the options covered previously on apprenticeships, college courses and other qualifications. The route you take will depend on your circumstances and what will be best for you. 

If you are a school leaver and have no or limited work experience, you may want to start with taking a relevant course at a college or other training provider. In some circumstances, you may be able to get a job as an electrician’s mate, trainee or assistant without much prior experience. You will need to have GCSEs, including English and Maths, and be able to prove solid practical skills. If you take this route, your employer may then support you with training to become a fully qualified electrician.

If you are looking to change careers, you could retrain as an electrician if you have previously worked in a similar industry and have experience and relevant qualifications. For example, if you were employed as an engineer. If you have relevant experience, you may be accepted for an electrician role offered by an employer. The level you are able to enter the profession at will depend on your experience and background.

If you already work as an electrician and have done so for at least five years but don’t hold a Level 3 electrician qualification, you may be able to get your skills and experience formally recognised to the industry Level 3 benchmark through the Experienced Worker Assessment.

There are many opportunities for progression as an electrician or to use the transferable skills gained for a different job in the sector. You could become a site or project manager, or may choose to specialise in a particular area, such as training as an electrical designer. You may want to set up your own business or become self-employed as a subcontractor or as a tutor.
If you would like to work in the construction and trades industry and want to find out more about the other careers available, have a look at this guide to Careers in the Construction Industry.

Electricians are in high demand in the UK, making it a good time to consider this as a career to pursue. To meet this demand, there is a range of support available to help you understand which route is best for you to take to qualify as an electrician and the different specialisms you can follow. If you have the skills required, you can develop a fulfilling and flexible career as an electrician.

Further Resources:

• Electrical Safety Guidance for Working on Construction Sites
• Electrical Safety Quiz
• Electrical Safety Symbols & Signs – What Do They Mean?
• What is Asbestos?

The post How to Become an Electrician appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

One in four adults experience mental illness in any given year in the UK. As a result, there’s a massive demand for people to fill roles associated with mental health – for example, there are currently over 64,000 jobs advertised on Indeed working in this field. Supporting people with their mental health can be a challenging, rewarding and exciting career choice, with so many different roles available.

In this article, we’ll explore the types of mental health professionals in detail and explain the qualifications these positions require. We’ll also look into possible career pathways to these careers.

Types of Mental Health Professionals

There are many types of mental health professionals, with various roles, responsibilities and purposes. Mental health professionals work in various settings and with people of varying ages.

We’ll have a look into these roles in more detail below:

Psychiatrists

Psychiatrists are physicians that have a deep understanding of the science behind how our brains function and operate. This allows them to diagnose psychological issues in their patients.

Psychiatrists are also qualified doctors, allowing them to prescribe therapies and medication to patients. Often, psychiatrists are involved in diagnosing the most complex psychological concerns.

Psychological Professionals

This large field encompasses all kinds of counsellors and clinical psychologists. Counsellors and clinical psychologists offer a variety of treatments to help support people with issues such as depression, anxiety and eating disorders.

Mental Health Nurses

Mental health nurses provide support to people experiencing poor mental health in a variety of ways. They may be involved in early interventions and supporting people to find the right services and therapies that suit their needs. Another typical duty of theirs is to ensure that patients take their prescribed medication. They may also liaise with family members and help to build a network of support for an individual.

Mental health nurses work in various settings, from specialist hospital wards and units to residential centres and people’s homes.

Occupational Therapists

Occupational therapists (OTs) help people to overcome numerous challenges in their everyday lives, including mental health issues. They help people to adapt and respond to the things which they find difficult in order to live a full and happy life.

OTs liaise with numerous other agencies and organisations to ensure that they take a practical approach that benefits the person best.

Social Workers

Social work is incredibly varied, and in contrast to popular belief, social services help children and adults, not just the former. These professionals build relationships with individuals and families who may be facing a multitude of challenges. They offer guidance and support and help to signpost people to additional services which they may need to access.

To learn more about careers in health and social care, take a look at our hub article here.

Personal Skills Required for Roles in Mental Health

A career in mental health can be incredibly rewarding. Many people embark upon this kind of career because they find that helping and supporting others brings them joy and satisfaction.

As with many rewarding careers, it is also one that will likely come with challenges. However, several personal skills can help you with any challenging situations that you may encounter.

Some of these notable skills are explained below.

Patience

In some cases, it may take some time to make an impact and to see your hard work pay off. It’s important to be patient in these situations and understand that everyone is different.

Suffering from a mental illness can be scary for the individual, and you should treat everyone with the same level of patience. Some people may be sceptical towards getting help, and, therefore may take a while to trust you and open up to the point where you can understand how best you can help them.

Empathy

Being able to appreciate and understand how another person may be feeling is a crucial part of a career in mental health.

Having empathy is the ability to recognise and respect the emotions, ethics, beliefs and values of others. You’ll need to be able to understand how someone feels about a situation and be sensitive to their needs.

Active Listening

There is a difference between simply hearing what someone says to you and actively listening to them. The latter involves reacting to what has been said meaningfully and is so important when discussing mental health. Much of your role may involve talking to and communicating with those you support, their families and your colleagues.

Active listening means:

• Listening with intention, without distractions.
• Listening for meaning in what the person is saying.
• Not interrupting and allowing the person enough time to speak.
• Not listening with preconceived ideas.
• Not pretending to listen whilst actually waiting for a gap in the conversation to speak yourself.
• Using positive body language and facial expressions to show you are listening, such as nodding and smiling.
• Paying attention to the speaker’s tone of voice and body language.
• Using affirmative words, such as ‘okay’, ‘right’, and ‘I see’ to show that you’re listening and to encourage the person to continue talking.
• Repeating or paraphrasing what the person has said to show you have understood.
• Asking relevant, open questions (those that require more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer).

For more further guidance on active listening skills, take a look at our hub article: How to Improve Active Listening in Communication.

Working Under Pressure

Many careers in mental health are demanding and will present you with numerous tasks and deadlines that you will need to be able to manage.

It’s therefore important that you can not only prioritise your tasks and manage your time effectively, but also be able to do so with a clear mind in a pressurised situation. You may only have a moment or two to make an important decision, and it’s crucial that you feel able to do so.

Making Important Decisions

If your role involves building a support plan for someone with mental health concerns, important decisions will need to be made.

There is a huge responsibility that comes with this, and you must feel comfortable taking a proactive approach and feel confident in the decisions you make.

Resilience

Resilience is the ability to ‘bounce back’ and comfortably carry on in the midst of adversity. As we’ve mentioned, this career will likely be challenging at times. You’ll need to be able to face complicated – and potentially difficult – situations, remain calm and resilient.

For more information on resilience, check out our article.

You may already possess valuable and transferable skills which you could apply to a job in mental health. To consider this further, take a look at our hub article: Transferable Skills: What Are They and Why Are They Important?

What Qualifications Do I Need to Work in Mental Health?

The qualifications you’ll need for a career in mental health depend on the type of role you’re interested in. Many jobs do require qualifications to at least a degree level. There are also various mental health certificates and diplomas offered in colleges which can help you to develop the skills and knowledge required for an entry-level position in this field.

Common undergraduate degrees which lead to careers in mental health include:

• Nursing.
• Nursing (specialising in mental health).
• Health and Social Care.
• Medicine.
• Occupational Therapy.
• Psychology.

For certain roles within the mental health field, it might be required to have a master’s or postgraduate qualification following an undergraduate degree to specialise in a particular area. This would be common for roles such as behavioural therapy and psychological counselling, as you need to become an expert in your field in order to competently help others. It is then possible to work in various settings using your qualifications, such as schools, hospitals, residential settings and in people’s own homes.

A great way to kick off a career in mental health is to get involved in volunteer work. Volunteering is a way to get a feel for whether this kind of work is right for you, and you can fit it around existing commitments. Having some practical work experience like this on your CV will also make you a more attractive candidate when applying for courses and qualifications.

Need a Course?

At High Speed Training we offer a range of courses to help you to manage your own mental health as well as the skills need to support others, such as our Mental Health Awareness course, designed to increase your understanding of common mental health conditions.

Mental Health Career Pathways

The pathway you’ll need to take to start a career in mental health will depend entirely on the position that you want.

For example, if you are interested in psychiatry, the first step would be to complete medical school. Typically, you’ll need appropriate GCSE and A-levels to be accepted into a university to study a five-year undergraduate degree in medicine. However, if you have an undergraduate degree already – even if it’s in a different subject – you could take a postgraduate degree in medicine, which would take four years. Once you have completed medical school, you’ll be required to join the paid foundation program, where you’ll gain experience by working in different settings across six different placements.

As you become experienced in your chosen field, you may choose to set up your own business offering services such as counselling and psychotherapy. Many people who take this path will become a part of a professional body or association, such as BACP (British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists) or UKCP (United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy). This offers their patients reassurance that they hold the relevant qualifications and have the right level of experience to offer specific therapies.

You may also choose to work on a specialist psychiatric ward in a clinical setting or perhaps in medical research. Once you have experience, the correct training and the right qualifications, you will find that new opportunities are made available to you.

On the other hand, if you’re interested in becoming a mental health support worker, the requirements are quite different. There are no specific qualification requirements – however, employers will likely prefer you to have a diploma or NVQ in healthcare or something similar. Having experience of working in mental health is also likely to be preferable. Still, this experience could be from your own personal circumstances, and doesn’t necessarily have to be past work experience.

Once you begin studying for a qualification in mental health, you will likely find particular areas more interesting than others. It may be that you find you are fascinated by the science behind how the brain functions, or perhaps it is the practical skills of caring for people with mental illness which interest you. You’ll also begin to realise where your skills are best suited.

A career in mental health can provide challenges and fulfilment in equal measures. With so many different job roles and career paths associated with this type of work, the opportunities are vast. If you feel you have the right personal skills and level of interest, this may be an excellent career to explore further.

Further Resources

• Mental Health Myths vs Facts: What are the Realities?
• A Personal Development Plan (PDP) Guide & Template
• Careers in Health and Social Care
• Writing A Professional Development Plan – Example & Template

The post How to Get a Job in Mental Health appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

In this article, we will outline the careers available in the hospitality and catering industry and explain some of the skills that may be required. We will also provide you with some guidance and advice on how to secure a job.

What Jobs are in the Hospitality and Catering Industry?

The hospitality and catering industry is vast and includes businesses such as bars, restaurants, hotels and clubs. There are plenty of job roles to choose from, for example, you could work as front of house staff, in a management role or behind the scenes as a chef or technician. 

Careers in hospitality and catering include:

• Servers – duties include taking food and drink orders, serving customer orders and taking payments. 
• Chefs – responsible for creating and updating menus, preparing food and ordering stock.
• Hosts – this entails taking reservations, greeting customers and seating them.
• Cellar technicians – installing and maintaining drink systems in bars, pubs and restaurants. 
• Food suppliers – duties include taking stock orders and delivering to organisations.
• Cleaners – this involves cleaning businesses, including bars, restaurants and hotels, to a high standard to ensure cleanliness and hygiene. 
• Kitchen assistants – sometimes referred to as a ‘dishwasher’, a kitchen assistant is responsible for helping prepare food and cleaning the kitchen.
• Hospitality critics – this entails assessing hospitality businesses and publishing reviews about them. 
• Inspectors – responsible for ensuring businesses are safe and healthy, and that they meet the necessary requirements. 
• Food factory workers – required to prepare food that will be delivered to hospitality businesses. 
• Porters – this is a common role in hotels, duties include carrying customers baggage to their rooms, valet parking and room service. 
• Event planners – responsible for arranging events to customers wants and needs, this often involves liaising with others in the business such as managers, chefs and servers. 

This list is not exhaustive and the career opportunities within the catering and hospitality sector are endless. Finding the right role for you involves one that suits your needs, skills and abilities, as well as challenging you. 

Management Roles

There is also the opportunity to further your career in hospitality and catering by entering a management position. This can involve supervising staff, making shift rotas, schedules and being responsible for day-to-day running of the business. There are clear routes of progression too; for example, if you start as a server, you could step up to be a bar or restaurant manager. If you start as a kitchen assistant, you could become a chef then a sous chef, or a head chef. 

Benefits of Working in Hospitality

As with any role, in any sector, there are positives and negatives associated with working in the hospitality industry. It is helpful to be aware of them so that you can make an informed decision about whether it will fit with your wants and needs, and if it is the right sector for you. 

Some of the benefits of working in the hospitality and catering sector include:

Building on your skills 

Depending on the role you undertake, you will develop extensive skills. This includes, and is not limited to, teamwork skills, excellent communication skills, cash handling skills, time management skills and organisational skills.

Flexibility of hours 

Most hospitality and catering jobs will come with a range of hours, in comparison with a 9-5 job. You could work the morning shift, day shift or evening shift depending on the business you work in. 

Variety of roles

There are many different roles available in the hospitality industry, meaning you can change your job to suit your needs. Also, the skills you develop in one role will often provide you with transferable skills that will help you secure a different role within the industry. 

Opportunity for advancing 

Career progression in the hospitality industry means you can gain more responsibility as you go. Starting at an entry level position, such as waiter or dishwasher, you can build on your knowledge and skills to become a chef, supervisor, manager or even to start your own hospitality business. 

As with any job, there are some challenges and potential negatives. Despite having flexible hours compared to a normal 9-5 job, many hospitality businesses will be open late and open on weekends, meaning you could be working unsociable hours. It is also a high-pressure environment that is very fast paced, so a level of resilience and being able to cope under pressure is required. 

Looking to Learn More?

Our Food Hygiene courses and Food Allergen training course will help you to build your knowledge and skills on important topics in the hospitality industry.

How to Get into the Hospitality Industry

Careers in hospitality can be highly rewarding and even if you don’t have experience in the sector, you can still pursue a role. There are a few ways you can get into the industry and steps you can take to increase your chances of getting a job.

Before applying for a job, it is helpful to figure out what sort of role you are best suited to. Would you like to work in a hotel? Or would you prefer shifts in a restaurant? Knowing which business you would prefer to work in will help you identify a role you would like. Do you enjoy preparing food? Or are you more of a people person that would like to interact with customers? Identifying the role you would like to be in can help you know what steps you can take to stand out from others when applying for a job.

Upskilling yourself through online courses, classes and volunteering can help you develop desirable skills that employers will be looking for, too. For example, building on your knowledge of food hygiene, customer service skills or leadership and management can make you stand out from others that may be applying for the same role.

Tailoring your CV and cover letter to the role you want will also help you secure a position. Highlighting the skills and experience that you have which are relevant to the role you are applying for will increase your chances of being selected. Customer service, time management and communication skills are all important for jobs in the hospitality industry. Read the job specification and identify the desirable skills they are looking for, this will help you know what to include in your CV. This may mean altering your CV and cover letter for each job that you apply for. 

It is also important to thoroughly prepare for your interview. Take a look at our articles on the questions you may be asked when interviewing to be waiting staff, a bartender or a chef for more guidance. 

If you don’t get offered your dream job straight away, accepting a position in the industry will still help you gain experience while you continue to search for your perfect role. To get started, take a look at the current job advertisements in your local area. 

We hope you have enjoyed reading this article and have learnt about the variety of rewarding jobs available in the hospitality and catering industry. If you have any further questions or wish to find out more information on the topics covered in this article, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at High Speed Training!

Further Resources:

• Food Hygiene Courses
• What is the Importance of Effective Communication in the Hospitality Industry?
• What Skills Do You Need To Be a Chef?
• Top 8 Skills for a Successful Career in Hospitality
• Is There a Difference Between a Chef and a Cook?

The post Careers in Hospitality and Catering appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

Since the pandemic, the Community Champions scheme has continued, and volunteers continue to work alongside local councils, this time with a focus on improving overall communication, services and conditions in local, disadvantaged communities.

In this article, we’ll look at what it means to be a Community Champion, what the key roles and responsibilities are and how to become a Community Champion if you’re keen to take up a new challenge.

What is a Community Champion?

A Community Champion is someone who volunteers within their own local community to promote and enhance people’s wellbeing. They’re sometimes known as a ‘health champion’. It might mean championing healthy living, improving mental wellbeing or attaining better living conditions for their peers. These communities are usually disadvantaged for some reason, perhaps due to poverty, a lack of native English speakers or high levels of unemployment.

Community Champions are generally people with life experience in the community that they represent – perhaps they’ve grown up there or have lived or worked there for many years. They’re likely to have good social networks in the area and can tap into these connections in order to improve services and address barriers.

It’s important that the Community Champion for an area has real insight into that community’s specific needs. They’ll need local knowledge of an area, including a good understanding of the thoughts, feelings and concerns of local people, as well as their cultures, faiths and backgrounds.

The main aim of a Community Champion is to address inequalities in disadvantaged communities and be the agent of change, acting on their behalf. They are particularly effective in areas where trust in the authorities is low and often act as a bridge between the two.

This is particularly important in areas where there is a high population with low educational attainment, as this is a known link to health inequality.

Roles and Responsibilities of a Community Champion

A key role of a Community Champion is being the interlocutor between service providers and service users. Essentially, a Community Champion is there to open up and maintain the dialogue between the people in the community and the services provided to them. For example, communicating with the local council in order to improve recreational facilities, passing on important health messages from the local government or speaking with charities to open a new food or clothing bank.

Some Community Champions already hold a similar role in other areas of their life. For example, healthcare champions work to identify gaps in healthcare organisations so that services can be improved. Other people may be ‘champions of change’ in their workplaces and actively work to improve employee wellbeing and gender equality or they could be members of their local Neighbourhood Watch Network. These people are often a natural fit for the role of Community Champion.

Looking to Learn More?

Take a look at our range of online Safeguarding Courses if you’re planning to volunteer with children, or adults with care and support needs, in your community.

Other important roles and responsibilities of a Community Champion are:

• Being in-touch with their community and alert to their needs. A good Community Champion is able to identify what provisions are already in place and how effective they are, then establish what new services are required, depending on those local needs.
• Increasing awareness, understanding and knowledge, both within members of the community and between communities and their local authorities. They help local councils understand the real needs of the communities they represent.
• Undertaking successful outreach and engagement – getting local people actively involved.
• Empowering local people to take part, have their voices heard and recognise that their concerns, hopes and needs are listened to and taken seriously.
• Addressing health inequalities in both the short-term and long-term. For example, encouraging the community to get COVID-19 and flu vaccines in the short-term and promoting healthy living in the long-term.
• Working with Community Champions from other areas to ensure cohesion and share tips and advice.

How to Become a Community Champion

To become a volunteer Community Champion for your local area, you’ll first need to get in touch with your local council to see what opportunities are available. Try your council’s website to see if they’re actively recruiting Community Champions and for details on how to apply. Some local charities also advertise for volunteer Community Champions to help promote their cause.

To volunteer as a Community Champion, you need to be at least 18 years old and live or work in the area you want to represent. No previous job experience or volunteering experience is required, as any required training will be provided on the job. If your application is successful, you’ll be invited to attend a discussion with your local council or charity and will likely have to undergo a DBS check.

Whilst no previous experience is required, it’s a good idea to build up your CV with examples of transferable skills that you can bring to the role. You could also look at getting a related qualification, such as the RSPH Level 1 or 2 Award in Understanding Health Improvement or High Speed Training’s Communication Skills course.

There is no minimum number of hours you’re expected to commit to the role of Community Champion, as the position is entirely voluntary. Some councils may specify a preferred number of working hours per week, such as 2-3 hours, or ask you to sign up for a set time period, such as 6 months. This is to ensure both you and the council get the most benefit from the role.

In this article, you’ve learnt more about the Community Champions scheme, including the role of a Community Champion, the responsibilities involved and how to apply for the programme. We hope you’ve found the information useful.

Further Resources

• What is Social Prescribing in Health and Social Care?
• Champions in Healthcare: Role and Responsibilities 
• What is the Role of Active Participation in Health and Social Care?

The post Community Champions: Role and Responsibilities appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

In this article, we’ll provide advice on how to gain the most out of an upcoming interview, particularly if it’s to be held online via video chat, so that you can stand out from the crowd.

What is a Virtual Interview?

A virtual interview, also known as a video interview, is a way for companies to interact with potential job candidates from afar. Virtual interviews are becoming increasingly popular, especially as we all move towards a world of remote working and hybrid working, where it’s no longer a requirement of the role to live in the same town or city as your employer.

Benefits of Virtual Interviews

Attending a virtual interview has many benefits for both you and your prospective employer, including:

• Video interviews can be more convenient, as you’re less likely to need time off work to attend the interview or can schedule it for a time of day that suits you best.
• Unlike a simple phone interview, a video interview allows you to see the person or people you’ll be working with. Not only does this offer you a friendly face, but it means you can read body language and make eye contact, just like a face-to-face conversation.
• There are no travel costs incurred or overnight hotel stays needed, as you can attend the interview from your own home.

Disadvantages of Virtual Interviews

As with anything, however, virtual interviews do also have their disadvantages, such as:

• You need to ensure you have the right technology, such as a laptop or a desktop computer with a webcam and microphone, to be able to attend the video interview.
• Video interviews rely on you and your interviewer both having a reliable internet connection that won’t disconnect or break up during the call.
• You’ll need to find a suitable location to put your computer where you won’t be disturbed and where you can ensure a professional background to your video call. Aim for somewhere plain without distracting clutter, pets or people.

Video Interview Preparation

Before attending a virtual interview it’s important that you prepare. This means preparing yourself, your location and your technology ready for the big moment – the last thing you need is login problems, being stuck on mute or a pet jumping onto the desk in front of you. A few areas of preparation to consider include the following:

Video Interview Software

Before attending your virtual interview, make sure you have the right software installed on your laptop or desktop computer. Your interviewer should be able to tell you which platform they are using for the call if you don’t have this information to hand. For example, are you meeting on Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Skype? Be sure to download the relevant application ahead of time and ensure you can login successfully to avoid any last minute panic.

Video Interview Practice

Have you rehearsed your interview technique or are you planning to improvise on the day? To be well prepared, it’s a good idea to simulate a virtual interview environment with a family member or friend before the main event, so that you can practise answering questions and test out your technology. We’ll cover the types of questions you might need to prepare for later in this article.

Video Interview Dress Code

First impressions count, so make sure you choose a suitable outfit for your video interview ahead of time. Treat the virtual interview the same as you would a face-to-face interview and dress modestly and professionally, even if the interviewer can only see your head and shoulders. Dressing the part shows you’re serious about the role and will give you a boost of inner confidence. 

Video Interview Questions

As part of your virtual interview preparation, it’s always a good idea to research potential interview questions related to your particular industry. If the role you’re applying for requires home working or hybrid working, then you may also encounter questions about remote working best practices, and these could be questions you’ve not had to answer before when applying for a role with a set working location.

Top Tip

Video interview questions often focus on certain key skills: communication, productivity, time management, initiative and motivation. Be sure to come up with examples of each of these areas ahead of your virtual interview.

Below are 15 examples of video interview questions related to remote working and working from home that you may want to prepare for:

1. How would you minimise distractions when working at home?
2. What does your home office space look like?
3. How do you prioritise work when working alone?
4. How do you stay organised when working from home?
5. Tell me about what you do to manage your time, do you have any specific methods?
6. How do you stay motivated when working from home?
7. What’s your preferred way to communicate with colleagues?
8. How would you reach out to a colleague if you needed help?
9. Are you comfortable working alone and managing your own schedule?
10. What do you see as your biggest challenge when it comes to remote working?
11. Give me an example of a time you’ve had to collaborate with others remotely.
12. Give me an example of a time when you’ve had a problem and how you handled it whilst working remotely.
13. Give me an example of a time when you’ve had to use your initiative.
14. Give me an example of how you manage your work-life balance.
15. Give me an example of something you’ve done in the past to successfully bond with remote colleagues.

If you’re interviewing for a role in a specific industry, visit one of the links below to see further interview questions and how to prepare for them:

• Interview Questions for Care Workers
• Interview Questions for Teachers
• Interview Questions for Hospitality Staff 
• Interview Questions for Bartenders
• Interview Questions for Chefs
• Interview Questions for Waiting Staff 

Virtual Interview Questions to Ask the Employer

At the end of an interview, you’re usually given the chance to ask any questions you have. Asking your interviewer questions shows you are genuinely interested in the role and the company you’re interviewing for. If all of your questions have already been answered during the interview process, then tell your interviewer what you would have asked if you’d needed to. This shows to them that you’ve prepared – not that you just can’t think of anything to ask.

Top Tip

Aim for up to 3 questions at the end of your virtual interview based around the role, the company or the people – but avoid questions about salary, working hours or benefits, which are better directed at the HR team.

Examples of good questions to ask at the end of a video interview are:

• What is the most challenging part of the role?
• What do you expect from me in this role?
• What does the perfect candidate for this role look like?
• What are the most important skills for a person in this role to have?
• What kind of tasks would I be expected to complete in my first month here?
• Can you tell me about the performance review process?
• What’s the best thing about working for this company, in your opinion?
• Can you tell me about what the company plans to achieve in the coming years?
• Are there any particular challenges facing the company right now?
• Is there any further information or evidence I can give you to enhance my application?
• Is there anything I’ve said that needs to be elaborated on?

Standing out in an interview is vital if you’re looking for a new job. We hope that this article has helped you understand how to best prepare for a video interview, and that the tips we’ve provided will help you on the path to success. If you have any further questions or wish to find out more information on the topics covered in this article, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at High Speed Training!

Further Resources: 

The post How to Stand Out in a Virtual Interview: Preparation Tips appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

Currently, 80% of people never set goals at all and, out of those that do, roughly 70% fail to achieve them. This is likely due to a lack of specificity when goal-setting. To help make your objectives more achievable, it can help to break them down into smaller steps that are clearly defined and realistic. This is where the SMART method for creating goals can really help. 

In this article, we’ll define what SMART goals are, why they are so important for development, and how to set good SMART goals to help advance your career. We’ll also share some examples as inspiration to help you get started with your own goal setting.

What are SMART Goals?

SMART is an acronym that can help to guide your goal setting. It stands for:

• Specific.
• Measurable.
• Achievable.
• Relevant.
• Time-bound. 

When creating a personal or professional development goal, you can follow the SMART method by ensuring that your objectives adhere to each of these parameters. This helps to ensure that your goals are realistic, have a clear timeline, and that your progress can be tracked. 

Too often, goal setting gets side-lined within a business, but both employees and managers have a responsibility to set goals regularly. Using SMART goals, employees and their line managers can create an actionable plan together which ensures that they continue to grow and develop within their roles. It can also improve performance, increase productivity, and contribute towards company objectives. 

Why are SMART Goals Important?

SMART is an effective method of goal-setting as it provides the clarity, focus, and motivation needed to achieve the objectives you set for yourself. Additionally, it’s an easy method that anyone can use without needing additional training or specialist tools. Some of the greatest benefits of using the SMART method to create goals are:

• It provides direction.
• It evaluates your strengths and weaknesses so you’re better aware of which areas you need to improve most.
• It provides motivation.
• It encourages you to take action and directs you out of your comfort zone, which is often where the most progress happens.
• It retains your focus on the end-goal.
• It elicits a continuous sense of achievement by creating regular milestones.
• It allows you to monitor your progress.
• It avoids wasting time on activities that aren’t goal-oriented.

Another reason why SMART goals are important is that they help to foster a growth mindset. A growth mindset is the belief in your ability to develop your knowledge and learn new skills through determination and practise. Once developed, it can help you to overcome challenges and embrace opportunities. 

Using SMART goals can help to nurture your growth mindset by ensuring that you achieve frequent milestones, which increases your confidence in your abilities. Additionally, the SMART method allows you to create a clear vision of success, which helps with maintaining motivation – a key aspect of a growth mindset. To learn more about how to develop and maintain a growth mindset in the workplace, read our article on the subject here.

Looking to Learn More?

Knowing how to set good SMART goals is an essential business skill, and one that will be invaluable to anyone in, or hoping to take on, a leadership role. To further enhance these skills, check out our Business Essentials courses. In particular, we highly recommend our Communication Skills and Leadership and Management training.

How to Set SMART Goals

The first step in setting a SMART goal is to think of something you’d like to accomplish in the future. This could be a vague goal to start with, for example: ‘I will increase my sales’. Once you have an end-goal in mind, you can build on it using the SMART acronym to make it more attainable and quantifiable. 

Specific 

Goals that are specific have a higher chance of being achieved. To make a goal more specific, you can use questions to help narrow down your objective, such as:

• Who is involved in your goal?
• What exactly do you want to accomplish?
• What steps are needed to achieve it?

Using these considerations, we can turn our generic goal of ‘I will increase sales’ to something far more specific such as: ‘I will learn a new sales technique to increase my number of weekly sales.’

Measurable

To allow you to keep track of your goal, it must have set criteria for measuring progress. Without this, you’ll have no way of identifying how near or far you are from achieving your goal. This usually involves setting a numerical target that you’d like to reach or exceed. 

For example, we can improve our example goal from: ‘I will learn a new sales technique to increase my number of weekly sales’ to: ‘I will learn a new sales technique to increase my number of weekly sales by 10%.’

Achievable

After specifying your goal and evaluating how you will measure it, it’s time to consider how achievable your current goal is or whether you may need to adjust it. Some things to think about are whether you have the resources needed to achieve your goal, and if not what are you missing? It’s important to strike the right balance of making your goal challenging enough to make it an accomplishment without it being too difficult to complete successfully. 

To make your goal more achievable, you could always reduce the measurable aspect that you added in the previous step. For example, rather than looking to ‘increase my number of weekly sales by 10%’, you could reduce this to 5% instead if necessary.

Relevant 

Here, you need to consider whether the goal you’ve set for yourself is in line with what your company or team as a whole aspires to achieve. If your goal doesn’t contribute towards company targets, you may successfully deliver your objective but it won’t have an impact on the overall performance of the business. It helps to add a section to the end of your SMART goal clarifying how your personal target will play a part in bigger company aspirations. 

For example, we can justify our objective of increasing sales by adding to the SMART goal as so:  ‘I will learn a new sales technique to increase my number of weekly sales by 10%. This will contribute more towards team revenue and help to increase monthly profits.’

Time-bound

Finally, to be able to effectively measure success, you must place a time limit on your goal so that you have a deadline to work towards. This can help ensure that you stay on track to achieving your target, and will motivate you to make progress faster. Without a deadline, there is no pressure to make advancements towards your ultimate objective and thus it’s far easier to procrastinate. You can learn more about how to be productive at work in our article, here. 

Following this, we can complete our example goal by adding a time restriction such as: ‘I will learn a new sales technique to increase my number of weekly sales by 10% within Q2. This will contribute more towards team revenue and help to increase monthly profits.’ 

Now that you know how to create a good SMART goal, it’s time to form your own ideas of achievements you’d like to attain in the future, then use the SMART formula to turn them into actionable goals. 

Implementing SMART Goals

One way to find inspiration for your goals is to revisit your performance reviews, which you should have regularly with your employer or manager. Within a performance review, you’ll receive feedback that can help you to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Once you know your potential areas of improvement, you can use these to set goals which aim to turn your current shortcomings into your future assets. To learn more about how to use performance reviews to your full advantage, read our article on the subject here.

Lastly, once you have your list of objectives for the future and have turned them into SMART goals, it’s important to format these into a personal development plan (PDP). This is a formalised template that helps you to keep track of where you are in your progress towards achieving each of your goals. Whereas the SMART formula helps you to create individual goals that are achievable and measurable, a PDP helps you to view all of your goals together and decide which to prioritise. It can also be used to monitor your personal growth over time. Need help getting started? Take a look at our free downloadable PDP guide and template.

Examples of SMART Goals for Employees

It can be hard to know where to start with setting goals, particularly ones that fit every part of the SMART formula. Here are a few examples of professional development goals that you could edit to fit your individual aspirations:

• Attend three industry events each month this year, and speak to five people at each to improve your networking.
• Complete an online course in the next month to improve your knowledge in a specific area and increase your level of efficiency within your role. (To help personalise this goal, why not visit our course library and browse one of our many training opportunities to find the right one for you.)
• Research a new competitor every two weeks to improve the knowledge of the market and identify areas of improvement in your company for the next quarter.
• Lead three team meetings within the next two months to build confidence in directing discussion and improve your presentation skills. (Our article on How to Speak up in Meetings is a great starting point for this goal.)
• Learn a new tool/software; XX, to build on your abilities and improve productivity by XX% by the end of the quarter.
• Dedicate 30 minutes per week to self-reflection to evaluate your performance and proactively seek areas for improvement until the end of the quarter. (As part of this self-reflection, you may want to consider ways to work on your emotional intelligence, as this is a vital skill in every workplace that can always be improved.) 

We hope you found this article on how to write SMART goals useful. Personal development is extremely important in driving career progression and ensuring that you stay motivated in your role. Using the SMART method to create personal development goals increases the likelihood that you’ll succeed in your aspirations, as they help to ensure that your objectives are realistic, measurable, and include a deadline to work towards. 

Further Resources:

• A Personal Development Plan (PDP) Guide & Template
• How to Develop a Growth Mindset in the Workplace
• How to Upskill Yourself
• Writing A Professional Development Plan – Example & Template
• Business Essentials Courses

The post How to Write SMART Goals for Employees appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

In this article, we will outline the roles and responsibilities required, which qualifications and skills you may need in order to pursue this career and how you can meet these requirements to become a support worker.

What Does a Support Worker Do?

The role of a support worker varies depending on the setting you work in and who you work with. However, the work focuses on helping those with care and support needs to live as independently as possible.

Support workers are often required to:

• Help individuals with their personal care tasks, such as bathing.
• Provide emotional and social support – this may extend to their loved ones also.
• Ensure the health needs of those they support are being met – such as administering medications.
• Support people to reach their goals so that they can live as independently as possible and maintain a sense of fulfilment and wellbeing.
• Be aware of any changes in health or behaviour and report them accordingly.
• Give person-centred support, always working in-line with their individual care plan.

• Understand risk assessments and how they relate to the support that you provide. 
• Provide moving and handling support and understand the safe and appropriate use of mobility aids and other equipment. 
• Help manage continence care needs.
• Complete the necessary records for care that has been provided. For example, medication administration records (MAR charts), fluid and food charts, repositioning records and detailed reports of care visits. 
• Support individuals with everyday tasks, such as cooking, cleaning, shopping, paying bills and getting to and from appointments or social engagements.
• Work with other healthcare professionals in the management of the individual’s care and support.
• Be able to listen and communicate effectively to ensure you can provide support in a way that the person prefers and to enable you to meet their needs.
• Encourage and support involvement in hobbies, interests, education or forming and maintaining meaningful connections and relationships.

It is important to not assume what a role will entail based solely on the job title. The role of a support worker and its many titles can vary enormously and you should always look for a detailed description of the role and the person specification to ensure it is the right one for you.

Different Types of Support Workers 

There are many titles a support worker that are used interchangeably and represent similar roles and duties. The choice of the job title used often comes down to the organisation itself. As these are modernised and amended over time, you may see various names used for the same role. However, there are several roles that work in specialised areas and these are usually referred to by a specific title. 

Examples of titles you may see when looking at support worker roles include:

• Nursing assistant.
• Care support worker.
• Home care/domiciliary worker.
• Nursing auxiliary.
• Health care assistant.
• Physiotherapy assistant.
• Occupational therapy support worker.
• Mental health support worker.
• Personal assistant.
• Language and speech therapy assistant.
• Podiatry assistant.

A support worker role could involve looking after numerous individuals, such as those in hospital and GP settings, care homes or within the community. In these cases, those you support could have a variety of needs that you may need to be familiar with, such as declining health, dementia, mental health issues, physical disabilities or learning disabilities. 

Finding the right support role for you may mean looking at the typical hours and shift patterns you’d be required to work, the type of environment you would be in, the specific needs of those you would be working with and whether you would like to work with numerous people or you would prefer to dedicate your support to just one individual. 

If you think you’d like to work in the health and social care sector but you are unsure in what capacity, you may find it useful to look at our article about the variety of careers in health and social care.

What are the Skills and Qualities of a Good Support Worker?

If you are new to care and don’t feel that you have the qualifications or experience needed to secure a role, don’t be put off. Much of the training required for support worker roles can be done on the job and there are a variety of roots available into the sector. The primary requirement of a good support worker is in their nature, values and ability to show kindness and empathy. 

The key qualities and skills required of a support worker include:

• Friendliness and a kind and caring nature.
• Compassion and understanding.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Being a good listener.
• Problem solving skills and adaptability.
• Being patient.
• Organisational skills, including time management.
• An ability to build trust and relationships with others. 
• Resilience.
• Remaining calm in challenging situations.
• Having a desire to help people and to promote independence and wellbeing.
• Understanding the importance of privacy, dignity and respect.
• A sensitive approach to support work.
• A non-judgmental attitude to others. 
• A willingness to continually learn and develop.

Support workers will require training to ensure they can fulfil their role safely, appropriately and in line with best practice. Training also ensures that their work complies with the relevant legislation and guidance at all times. However, the above qualities and skills make up the foundations of a good support worker, and without those, high-quality, person centred care is not possible.

Want to Learn More?

We have a range of Health and Social Care Courses, such as Communication Skills in Health & Social Care and Mental Health Awareness to help ensure you have the knowledge you need to support every individual’s needs. 

What Qualifications Does a Support Worker Require?

Support worker roles are often entry-level positions and there are no set entry requirements, however, being able to demonstrate good literacy and numeracy skills is usually expected. When it comes to qualifications, it can all get a little confusing. Different organisations have different requirements to enable you to secure a role as a support worker, as well as using different terms for the qualifications required.

Let’s first look at how you can get into a support worker role. You could apply directly (many places offer training whilst in the job), take on an apprenticeship, or take a college course. The qualification route you take will depend on several factors and your grades at GCSE (or equivalent) can determine which route of qualification you take.

Level 1 Certificate in Health and Social Care

Those with two or fewer GCSEs at grades 3 to 1 (D to G) would likely take the Level 1 Certificate in Health and Social Care – an introduction to the sector. This is an excellent pathway for those who want a career in health and social care but do not have the required grades to begin with level 2 study. 

Level 2 Diploma in Care

Those with two or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D) may take the Level 2 Diploma in Care. This level helps you gain a solid knowledge base and involves practical, work-related experience, often through a work placement one day a week.

T Levels

A relatively new initiative is that of T Levels. These are an alternative to standard A levels and are offered to 16-19 year olds in a range of subject areas. If you have four or five GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), including English and Maths, you may be able to take a T Level in Health.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships offer another route into health and social care and involve on the job training and time out of work for study (at least 20% of the apprentices working hours). The work is paid at either an apprentice rate or national minimum wage, depending on age. To search for an apprenticeship in England, you may find it useful to look on the Government’s website here.

National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ)

When looking to apply directly to a company that either requires you to have experience and qualifications in place already or that offers you on the job training, you may come across the mention of NVQ, QCF (Qualification and Credit Framework) or RQF (Regulated Qualifications Framework). 

It can be hard to understand how that translates to the above qualifications as there is quite a history with these. Generally, the introduction of the different types came about to introduce changes to the learning structure, flexibility and transferability between careers and sectors. 

Whilst the introduction to each new qualification aimed to phase out the existing one, reference to this study as an NVQ still holds quite strong. Regardless of what name this qualification is gained under, the validity of an awarded certificate will continue to stand. The same applies for a diploma course and an NVQ, for example, the NVQ Level 2 is an earlier version of the Level 2 Diploma in Care. 

Additional Training

For anyone who wants to gain more knowledge of health and social care and the role of a support worker, but is not currently in employment or a training programme, taking the initiative to undertake some online learning can be hugely beneficial. 

A great place to start is with our Care Certificate course. This provides you with in-depth knowledge and theory of the 15 Care Standards. To learn more about this training and why it is important, take a look at our article – What is the Care Certificate & Why is it Important?

How to Secure a Job as a Support Worker

We have discussed how there are many different routes that you could take to get into a support worker role and the qualifications required to do so. There are, however, a few ways to help you secure a job when competition is high. To aid you in your recruitment journey, it is important to highlight what you would bring to the role. Showcase any qualities you possess and any transferable skills (soft skills) you could utilise.

It is one thing to list the qualities and skills you possess, but being able to evidence them can be incredibly beneficial. Volunteer work always looks great, even if it involves caring for a loved one, but don’t worry if you haven’t had that or any experience in a health and social care environment as such. You can discuss examples from life events or from other job roles, or your education. These can demonstrate a time you showed certain qualities or gained and used certain skills in practice. 

It is useful to look around for job advertisements so you can get an idea of what the different roles involve, what is available, what various organisations are looking for in their staff, and also what career opportunities and training they offer. Looking on different job sites can provide good insights and exploring the options on the NHS Jobs website or your Local Council website is a great place to find jobs in social care. 

You can enquire with local organisations, who may be able to provide you with volunteer opportunities even if they don’t have any current or appropriate job vacancies. Working within your community can also help to support your future career goals. 

Becoming a support worker can be an incredibly fulfilling and rewarding role. There are varied routes of study and employment and you are not limited by previous work experience or school exam results – there is a path for everyone. Remember that your values, personal qualities and skills are the foundation for becoming a good support worker, who is able to provide high-quality care and support. 

Further Resources: 

• Health and Social Care Courses
• Promoting Effective Communication in Health and Social Care
• How to Promote Empowerment in Health and Social Care
• What is Skills for Care?

The post How to Become a Support Worker appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

As an employer, manager or other senior member of staff, you should understand the importance of upskilling and recognise the best methods to do so. In this article, we will outline what upskilling is and why it is so important in the workplace. We will also provide you with a range of strategies for upskilling your employees.

What is Upskilling in the Workplace?

Upskilling is about enhancing an employee’s existing skill set. This can be done in many ways, such as through extra training or mentoring. Upskilling allows employees to grow and build on their existing knowledge and skills. In turn, this adds value to the organisation as well as giving the employee routes for progression. 

Upskilling is different to reskilling in that it builds on what the employee already knows in order to maximise their potential. Reskilling, on the other hand, is about teaching an employee different skills and retraining them in a different way. 

Who is Responsible for Upskilling?

It is the employer’s responsibility to upskill their employees, but the specific person that takes control of upskilling depends on the organisation. For example, some workplaces have dedicated learning and development managers responsible for all employee training and who would be in charge of upskilling. In other organisations, managers would be responsible for identifying their direct reports’ upskilling needs. 

In all cases, a skills assessment should be carried out to identify the training and upskilling needs for each employee. A skills assessment helps to identify the upskilling needs that will be beneficial to both the employee and the organisation as a whole.

Why is Upskilling Employees so Important? 

The value of upskilling is constantly overlooked by businesses. Many perceive it as a risk, thinking that if the employee leaves, the upskill training was a waste. However, the irony is that failing to receive upskilling and personal development opportunities is one of many reasons why employees move on.

There are many benefits to upskilling employees, both to the individual employee and the organisation as a whole. Some of the main benefits of upskilling are:

Improved employee retention – where employees feel valued and in a role that helps them grow, they are more likely to stay. Retaining employees also reduces recruitment costs and improves the overall workplace culture and morale. 

Improved staff morale – employees who feel that they can develop in their role and feel challenged at work contributes to an improved staff morale. 

Increasing motivation and engagement – upskilling is a great way for employees to learn new things, which can increase motivation as they will feel more confident and capable in their role. It also gives employees a sense of fulfilment and purpose when they feel challenged and supported at work. 

Creating a skilled workforce – upskilled employees will have the ability to train new recruits more efficiently and share their knowledge, which will increase the average skill level of all employees.

Attracting talented candidates – workplaces that offer upskilling and development opportunities, and in turn clear career progression, will attract candidates who have positive, constructive attitudes to work.

Looking to Learn More?

Our range of Business Essentials Courses cover the cruicial information that every business should know. The training courses can help you to build your skills from Communication Skills to Time Management.

How to Upskill Employees

The most important factor to consider before implementing upskill training is that people respond differently to certain types. No two employees are alike, meaning that some people may develop certain skills more effectively than others. Furthermore, they may gain different levels of enjoyment from different types of upskill training.

As mentioned, completing a skills assessment can help to identify areas for upskilling. This should be done for each employee and will influence what is put on their upskilling plan. This must be done with the employee’s direct input. 

Examples for Upskilling Your Staff

Here are some suggestions for ways to upskill staff:  

Create a personal and/or professional development plan: A personal or professional development plan (PDP) is a document that the employer or manager and the employee use to prepare a strategy for reaching their development goals and tracking their progress. It ensures the upskilling follows a structure and that every accomplishment is recorded. 

Having an upskilling plan can make it feel more professional and actionable for the individual. As a result, they’re more likely to commit to and benefit from it, and gain a stronger sense of achievement.

Use internal talent: If staff in the business rarely pass on their skills and knowledge, this is untapped potential. Managers and employers should determine what skills the employee wants to develop and identify if anyone internally can impart this knowledge. Not only does internal upskilling benefit the trainee, but also the trainer. They’ll develop their communication and coaching skills, which are invaluable in practically every type of business.

Internal upskilling may involve the trainee shadowing the trainer, having an hour-long weekly training session with them, or doing some delegated tasks. It’s one of the most affordable forms of upskilling and one that feels fulfilling for both people involved. It can also have the added bonus of developing relationships across teams.

Provide external mentors: If  nobody is suitable to upskill staff internally, then external mentoring could be provided. The benefit of external mentors is that, because they’re experienced in training, they can deliver focused upskilling in a way that’s tailored to the individual.

Make sure staff attend their mentoring session in work hours and not during their lunch break. They need this time to let their mind relax and reorient itself before getting back into work mode. Doing this will ensure they absorb the training fully and maintain a positive work-life balance.

Provide online training: Online training is a highly accessible, flexible form of upskilling with a multitude of benefits. Arranging for staff to learn with mentors or attend external training courses can cut into company time and be costly, whereas staff can take online courses at work, at any time of day, and usually at a much lower price.

However, some online training comes with the risk of being too easy to click through and only providing the bare minimum. Therefore, finding an online training provider that commits to delivering engaging, in-depth content, and supports its learners during their course, is imperative. 

Need a Training Provider?

Our Online Training Courses cover a wide range of topics and cater for a number of different industries. We have courses in Safeguarding, Education, Health and Safety, Food Hygiene and Business Essentials.

Buy books: Upskilling doesn’t always have to be costly or involve a personal tutor. There are thousands of books, written by experts in their field, to help people develop their abilities – from programming to leadership skills, and everything in between.

Reading is a stimulating yet relaxing activity that’s perfectly suited to personal development and upskilling. The reader can go at their own pace and pick up the book at any time of day. Furthermore, books can be passed to another person once the trainee is done with them.

When planning upskilling for staff, let them search for the books themselves. They’ll be better at finding ones that appeal to them and, as mentioned earlier, will gain a better sense of ownership by having control.

Employees could take an hour or two each week to read during work. Dividing up their reading into a few small sessions is particularly beneficial, as it helps them absorb the information in bite-sized chunks. As an added bonus, they can also take frequent breaks from their regular work to refresh their mind.

Follow up and give feedback: Regular check-ins to see how the employee is progressing and growing allow you to not only evaluate their development, but also to identify what is, or isn’t, working. 

Feedback should include praise and acknowledgement of what the employee is doing well, as well as some constructive feedback around what they can keep working on and develop further. This could come in the form of a performance review. 

Check-ins are also a great way to see how the employee is feeling, identify if they need any assistance and flag any issues that they may be having. 

Upskilling should be a priority in all organisations. It is important to note that every employee will have different upskilling needs, therefore their input is crucial to ensure their upskilling training has the most value for them, as well as the business. 

Further Resources:

• 10 Development Areas for Managers
• What is EQ? A Guide to Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
• Resilience Quiz
• Resilience in the Workplace: What are the Benefits and How Can Businesses Develop It?
• The Consequences of a Lack of Training in the Workplace
• The Future of Online Learning: 2022 Whitepaper
• Coaching vs. Mentoring: What’s the Difference?
• What Does it Mean to be a T-Shaped Employee?
• How to Upskill Yourself
• Online Training Courses

The post 6 Ways to Upskill Your Employees appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

In this article, we will outline the role of a dance teacher and some of the skills, experience and qualifications required. We will also discuss what the next steps are for pursuing the role.

What is a Dance Teacher?

Dance teachers educate and train students in dance. This includes teaching dance routines, as well as helping students perfect their technique and performance. There are different styles of dance, such as ballet, tap, modern, ballroom, hip-hop and folk dancing. Depending on their area of expertise and the setting where the dance teacher works, they may specialise in one style of dance or teach a number of styles. 

The role of a dance teacher involves showing students how to warm up, demonstrating dance moves, assessing students’ performance, providing feedback, training students for exams and choreographing dances. 

As mentioned, dance teachers work in a variety of settings, including schools, community centres, gyms or professional dance schools. This means that as a dance teacher, you can work with a variety of people, of different ages and abilities. 

Dance Teacher Skills and Responsibilities

There are certain skills and qualities that are needed for being a successful dance teacher. As dancing is an art form, a level of creativity is needed for the role, and a passion for dance is crucial. Knowledge and awareness of the fine arts and the dance industry are also valuable for the role. 

No matter what level of ability dance students bring, teachers must be patient and motivated, as well as able to motivate others. Dancing is very hard and often requires practising the same move or routine repeatedly until it is perfected, therefore patience is required. As with any teaching role, verbal communication, leadership and time management are crucial. 

Your responsibilities as a dance teacher will include working on your feet most of the time and being active, as you may have to show students dance moves and help them perfect their technique. 

Depending on the setting you work in, you may be responsible for preparing students for their dance exams. This can include observing, providing feedback and marking students’ performances and you will need to develop your skills on how to do this successfully. 

Personal development also forms a huge part of being a dance teacher. You must work to keep track of the latest news from the industry and remain up-to-date with your own skills to ensure you are providing the best example to your students. This can involve preparing and planning for classes and exams, again this will depend on the setting you work in. 

What Qualifications Do You Need to be a Dance Teacher?

The qualifications needed to be a dance teacher vary depending on which setting you would like to work in. As mentioned, dance teachers can work in schools, community centres, professional dance companies and many more settings. 

The essential qualifications will also depend on the students you wish to teach, for example, there is a difference between the qualifications needed for teaching young children in their first ballet class, compared to teaching professional dancers in the west end. 

To teach dance in a school, you’ll need a relevant degree in dance or performing arts. Some degrees in dance already include teacher training. However, if you want to teach dance in a primary school, you’ll need a degree in early years education and then you can develop a subject specialism, such as physical education, which may include dance. 

To teach dance in a secondary school, you could become a physical education teacher with a specialism in dance, or you could teach dance as a single subject. This will be dependent on the curriculum of the specific school you want to work in and if they offer dance as a stand-alone subject. 

To teach dance at University level, as a lecturer, you will need a recognised postgraduate qualification or experience as a professional dancer, in addition to teaching experience. 

Many dance schools require teachers to have their own insurance, such as dance insurance coverage or dance fitness liability insurance. You can easily apply for dance teacher insurance online. 

It is also important to consider that you may need Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks to work with children and adults at risk. DBS checks review the criminal record of an individual and are completed for safeguarding purposes. In most cases, the employer will apply for your DBS for you. 

It is essential that all adults working with people under the age of 18, or working with adults at risk, have the appropriate safeguarding knowledge. Taking a proactive approach to safeguarding training and developing your knowledge will show your commitment to ensuring your students feel safe. 

Looking to Learn More?

Take a look at our range of Safeguarding Courses, including Safeguarding in Sport, Introduction to Safeguarding Children and Introduction to Safeguarding Adults.

Entry Requirements

Whichever level of dance you wish to teach, there are some minimum requirements you will need. These include: 

• Four or five GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or the equivalent, including Maths and English.
• Three A Levels, or the equivalent of a level 3 qualification in performing arts dance, or higher. 

Furthermore, there are additional desirable criteria that will improve your chances of employment. This includes a professional qualification from a recognised dance awarding organisation, such as the Royal Ballet School.

How do I Secure a Job as a Dance Teacher?

If you want to become a dance teacher, it is vital that you work towards getting the right qualifications and the necessary experience. An important factor to consider is where and who you want to teach, as this will impact which qualifications you need. 

There are a few different ways you can become a dance teacher, including through:

• A University course.
• A college course.
• Working as a teaching assistant, this may require you to already have certain qualifications. 
• Setting up as self-employed, for this you will require dance teacher qualifications. You could gain these independently or while working for an existing business as a dance teaching assistant. 

You will need to join a dance teachers association, such as the International Dance Teachers Association (IDTA), for credibility as a dance teacher. Associations will provide guidance and support, as well as being a great way to meet other aspiring, and current, dance teachers. They are also great networking tools and could help you look for career opportunities and vacancies in your chosen area. 

Becoming a Self-Employed Dance Teacher

Becoming a self-employed dance teacher will require other considerations in addition to the teaching qualifications needed. You will need to gain experience, build your reputation and learn how to set up your business. 

Considerations for becoming a self-employed dance teacher include the following:

• Gaining your dance teacher qualifications.
• Gaining the necessary experience.
• Becoming a member of a dance teachers association.
• Registering with the HMRC for your taxes as self-employed.
• Having the appropriate and necessary insurance.
• Marketing your business to potential students. 

Being a dance teacher is an amazing career choice, especially for those with a passion for dance and teaching. There are many ways to go about becoming a dance teacher that all depend on where and who you want to teach, therefore taking the time to think about what you will need to do and how you will do it will help you on your journey to becoming a dance teacher. 

We hope you have enjoyed this article and learnt more about what dance teachers do and what some of the skills, experience and qualifications are required. If pursuing a career in dance teaching is for you and you’d like some support on what training we can provide, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at High Speed Training!

Further Resources:

• Safeguarding in Sport
• Guide to Safeguarding Children in Sport
• How to Support Children with Disabilities to be Active

The post How to Become a Dance Teacher appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

In this article we will outline the benefits of speaking up in meetings and explain why you might find it difficult to contribute and engage in discussions. We’ll also provide you with actionable advice to take forward, helping you to grow and develop your level of confidence so you feel more in control during meetings going forward. 

What is the Importance of Speaking Up in Meetings?

Speaking up in meetings is about more than simply sharing your point of view – there are also many other personal and professional benefits. Good communication skills are an essential part of how we build and maintain relationships, develop our knowledge and learning, function well as a team and how we build confidence in ourselves and others. 

Professional relationships can hugely benefit from how you communicate in meetings and it is important to remember that your contributions are valid and important, no matter how big or small. You do not have to have a perfect idea or a fully formed plan to speak up, either. Sharing your insights or asking questions can help to further develop a project, encourage discussions, lead to new ideas or inspire others’ thought processes and contributions. 

Depending on the nature of your job, your position and the purpose of the meeting, the way in which you speak up and the benefits it can have, may vary. For example, if the aim of a meeting is to create a workable action plan to achieve certain goals, speaking up in a way that invites different perspectives, constructive feedback and others’ input, can help to ensure the final plan is one that is well considered and most likely to be a success. 

Whilst not everyone excels at speaking out loud and taking the lead in every meeting, it is important to understand that developing your confidence and ability to speak up can be a key factor in your career progression, job satisfaction and overall input within the business. It is an excellent opportunity to allow others to hear your voice, showcase your knowledge, your value and your competence. 

By allowing others to see your strengths and what you can bring to your role and the business, you are more likely to find yourself presented with new opportunities and chances to influence business activities in a positive way. 

Personal development goals can come in many forms, but whatever your goals may be, seeking out ways to step out of your comfort zone at work can help you to achieve greater things in all areas of life. One such goal could be to learn minute taking or how to chair a meeting effectively. Chairing a meeting can be a great way to build confidence and gain a different perspective on how meetings are run and managed.

Why Do I Struggle to Speak Effectively in Meetings?

Many of us struggle to not only speak out in meetings, but also to speak up clearly and effectively. This is often referred to as ‘meeting anxiety’ and it doesn’t necessarily link to how confident you feel as a person or in other scenarios. You may suffer from a lack of confidence, be new to your role or suffer from social anxiety, making you feel uncomfortable speaking out in group situations. Meeting anxiety is most likely to strike before presentations or more serious meetings, such as interviews, salary negotiations or performance reviews.

Let’s take a look at some of the other reasons that could prevent you from speaking up, you might:

• Feel dominated by others in the group if they are more outgoing than you or if they come across as strongly opinionated. 
• Believe your ideas are less valuable than others, either because others are more experienced than you or because you don’t feel you can articulate effectively.
• Struggle to fully engage with your colleagues if you are conducting meetings remotely. This can be particularly true for those who have never engaged with those they work with in person.
• Know when it is appropriate to share your views in virtual meetings, as it can be harder to pick up on any physical and social cues.
• Be in a meeting with those in a more senior role and feel intimidated by their position. 

Always remember that challenges are a natural part of life and one key way to develop our level of resilience is to adopt a growth mindset. It allows us to embrace difficulties and use them as opportunities to progress in all areas of our lives. 

Want to Learn More?

Taking the initiative to learn new skills and develop yourself personally and professionally can provide you with a great many benefits. Why not take a look at our Confidence Building Course to help you in a range of situations, and identify the barriers that are holding you back from achieving your goals. Or, check out our Resilience Training Course to gain practical advice and tools for building personal resilience and growth.

How to Be More Confident in Meetings

There are several ways to help foster more confidence in meetings. Although, the approach you take may depend on what barriers you personally face and any specific areas you may identify as needing further development. For example, a person who feels comfortable in meetings but lacks the experience and knowledge of meeting etiquette and how to effectively communicate their ideas, may have a different focus to those who have poor confidence and self-esteem and find it hard to manage their meeting anxiety. 

However, the following suggestions for how to be more confident in meetings can benefit everyone, even if you are building on your existing level of competence or starting from scratch. These include:

• Reaching out – there is no harm in reaching out to clarify the purpose of the meeting and to ask what the meeting host hopes to gain. Knowing this can help you to understand what contributions would be most relevant and useful. 
• Preparing ahead of time – preparing notes in advance can help you to stay focussed, particularly if you feel nervous or stressed. Notes can remind you of what you would like to discuss, questions you may wish to ask or what key information you are looking to take away from the meeting.
• Relaxing – using techniques like breathwork and affirmations to help calm your anxiety before a meeting can help you to maintain focus and a more positive mindset. 
• Speaking first – if you are going to speak as part of a group presentation or you know each person may need to contribute to the meeting in turn, volunteer to take your turn as early as possible. This will help you to avoid the anxious wait that comes from waiting for your turn and will free you up to relax and concentrate on the rest of the meeting. 
• Asking questions – you shouldn’t avoid asking questions because you worry it might not be good enough, there is no such thing as a bad question and they are a great opportunity to clarify points, show your interest and practice speaking up in a meeting. 
• Practising active listening – this means choosing to listen with focused intent and does not simply mean staying quiet. It means you are taking in what the speaker is saying, remaining present and aware. When a person avoids speaking up in meetings it can lead to a person becoming less engaged in what is being said as they have no intention of discussing it during the meeting.
• Engaging similar to the purpose of active listening, remaining engaged can help to calm anxiety – speaking up is an obvious form of engagement, but taking notes can also be invaluable. The more engaged you are, the more understanding you will have of what is being discussed and the more confident you may feel about contributing to the discussion. 

• Learning from others – look to those you see as confident and articulate communicators in meetings, paying attention to how they put their contributions across, how others respond to them and what you found effective about the way they spoke up. 
• Managing the challenges of virtual meetings – remote working can present some difficulties when it comes to successful engagement in meetings, with online interactions having their own rules of etiquette. Utilise the features available to you, such as the raised hand feature to notify people when you have something to say and the chat box function if you wish to engage without speaking. It is also worth remembering not to hide behind the mute button. If those entering the meeting exchange greetings, try to join in where appropriate.
• Reviewing your performance – when looking to develop yourself, it is important to self-reflect and even gather feedback from colleagues if you are comfortable doing so. It can be useful to identify areas you would like to improve upon so you can continue to grow and gain greater confidence and competence going forward. 

Speaking up in meetings can have multiple benefits to your personal and professional development. It can help you to build confidence, strengthen relationships, improve communication skills and open you up to a variety of new opportunities within your career. Take the time to adopt a growth mindset and embrace the challenge of public speaking. 

Further Resources: 

• Confidence Building Training Course
• How to Develop a Growth Mindset in the Workplace
• How to Chair a Meeting Effectively
• Minute Taking Quiz
• How to Upskill Yourself

The post How to Speak Up in Meetings appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.