Life Long Learning
How can an employed person increase their skills and gain the confidence to aim toward promotion opportunities or new career ideas during work time? How can companies start to instil the idea of lifelong learning and encourage their staff to take ownership of their own development and training? One answer is to utilise the services of designated Workforce Development Teams located around Wales. The role of these Teams is to help companies develop their lower skilled staff by promoting the benefits of learning, advice, guidance and subsequent funding to employees and employers. In the ever changing world of work where individuals will have to take personal responsibility for skill development as part of the commitment to going to work, the Workforce Development Team's services are increasingly being used by companies to great success, to encourage staff to motivate themselves within work to aim higher than merely “doing your job”. Their services are free and can be used in a number of ways by the employer – common benefits include: - improved understanding of staff,
- improved appraisal and training programmes
- better understanding of recruitment needs improved communication within departments
However, it’s the workers who really benefit from the one to one interviews. Each interview is totally confidential and only agreed information is passed back to employers.
Real names have been changed to protect confidentiality of the clients. Robert Davies has worked in the same job in a Cardiff engineering firm for 15 years. Although gaining some qualifications at school, he has undertaken little training and gained few qualifications since. After an initial interview, the Workforce Development Team suggested that Robert might benefit from undergoing psychometric testing to help identify his underlying abilities. The results were used to build a plan of action which would see Robert aim for a supervisors role in the company within six months by undertaking some specialist training, including supervisory management and IT skills. Robert says “I had no idea that I had been effectively standing still for all these years. Once I realised the interview was confidential and for my benefit, the Workforce Development Adviser made me realise how I am as much responsible for my development as my company is. I now intend to take a range of courses to put me in a much better position for promotion in the next few years. I am now more motivated in my work, I know exactly where I’m going in my job now - I wish I'd had this interview years ago!” The Workforce Development Advisers are professionally qualified in careers guidance and have knowledge of options, learning routes and appropriate funding mechanisms. They are backed by the large information resources of Careers Wales. This enables the Advisers to give the best advice and guidance for each individual, irrespective of background, circumstance or aspirations. The Workforce Development Team can be contacted via Learndirect. The helpline number is 0800 100 900 
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