Building the future - Learning at Work Week
In this blog post, Tara Bird, Brandon’s Early Careers lead, explains how Brandon supports staff to continuously develop throughout their careers.
In this blog:
- Learning and development at Brandon
- What are Brandon’s career pathways?
- The future of learning at work
Brandon has always been committed to the professional development of our colleagues to ensure we always provide the best support to the adults and children with learning disabilities and autism we support.
My role at Brandon is relatively new – I joined the charity in February 2023 – with a remit to build Brandon’s early careers strategy. I will be encouraging young people to join us through apprenticeships, work experience programmes and placements, and I am overseeing the apprenticeship programme for existing staff.
Learning and development
Brandon’s Learning and Development team provide exceptional in-house training to meet the needs of the people we support.
The learning at work journey at Brandon starts with our extensive Induction which offers a comprehensive welcome and ensures everyone has the specific, structured training relevant to their role.
Our in-house training programme also includes external opportunities and colleagues are encouraged to expand their experience and knowledge through a wide range of development initiatives. All staff also have access to our qualified in-house professional coaches.
Our ongoing learning support includes opportunities to study for apprenticeships and professional qualifications and certificates relevant to roles and career ambitions.
Career pathways
My role focusses on career and development pathways relevant to the core support roles, as well as those within the supporting functions, for example in marketing, IT, HR and finance. At Brandon, we are considering the skills needed in social care not just now, but also those needed to sustain and enhance the workforce of the future.
The Learning and Development team has built a programme that is helping to attract people to what is an incredibly rewarding career, but also to retain the employees of the future by making sure they recognise the fantastic career prospects and development opportunities available to them within Brandon and the wider social care sector.
The future of learning at work
As well as regular 1-2-1s with line managers, all colleagues are also supported to identify their own learning needs and develop an individual Learning Plan. This could include completing relevant qualifications in Health and Social Care or management and leadership, broadening their experience and developing new skills sets. We tailor learning at work plans to help everyone reach their full potential.
In the future, Brandon believes innovation will be key to help our charity achieve its far-reaching ambitions, to continue to provide the best possible support for the people we support to ensure they can truly live lives they choose.
Our Learning and Development and Early Careers programmes will continue to develop and evolve to meet the needs of the workforce of the future and ensure Brandon remains an example of best practice in social care.
More information
You can find out more about working in social care and hear from some of our team, by visiting the Who Cares? section.
Tara Bird
Early Careers Lead
