Advocating post pandemic

One of Educ8’s most popular qualifications – Advice and Guidance has, for obvious reasons, become more popular than ever, despite the economic challenges that Covid-19 has brought.

For those working within the support sector in fact it is has become ever more apparent just how valued, and valuable, the ability to offer sound advice and guidance is. Housing associations, Local Authorities, Debt Advisors and Support Workers, to name but a few, have all had to swiftly respond to assist and empower their clients as the pandemic has developed. Even those roles not traditionally associated as ‘supportive’ have seen a sudden requirement to adapt to client’s needs, including estate agents, landlords, supermarket staff and of course the Educ8 team: during the pandemic our Trainer Coaches were paramount to ensuring the welfare of our learners whilst our sales team provided support for our Welsh businesses. As the UK looks to reopen and return to some form of normality these key skills will continue to be vital. In Wales the ban on evictions ends on 30 June, meaning a much heavier workload for council support teams, the furlough scheme will come to an end on 30 September: it is imperative that Wales, and the UK, has the support systems, and the skilled staff within these, to help our people respond and recover.

Educ8 are delighted to have recently launched a Level 4 Independent Advocacy Apprenticeship, to further our offering and opportunities for those providing advice and guidance. This new qualification is designed for those who act, both in statutory and non-statutory roles, as a voice for others: supporting clients to make decisions about, and take control of, their lives. Apprentices studying towards the Advocacy Qualification will learn, and specialise, in the key skills required to advocate effectively, while their employers will benefit from both better qualified staff and more highly satisfied, supported, customers.  

We have seen a global shift generally of the top in-demand soft skills, LinkedIn’s 2020 Workforce Learning report found that

‘The top soft skills are more human-centric than last year. Soft skills are the essential interpersonal skills that make or break our ability to get things done. We think of them as foundational and every professional should be working to build them. Topping this year’s list are creativity, collaboration, persuasion, and emotional intelligence—all skills that demonstrate how you work with others.’

Educ8’s Independency Advocacy qualification has three optional pathways, allowing learners to become the subject matter experts in their chosen field:

• Independent Mental health advocacy
• Independent Advocacy with adults
• Independent Advocacy with Children and Young People

This fully funded Apprenticeship is a practice-based, 12 month qualification, and has been developed in collaboration with key sector stakeholders including Social Care Wales and Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW). Educ8’s innovative Moodle platform allows learners to study in a way, and time, that suits them – we’ve worked hard to make sure all content is easy to follow and engaging and includes activities, scenarios, videos and handouts.

If you’re keen to develop your supportive, advocacy skills, progress your career or think your business could benefit from better qualified, highly skilled, staff that are able to effectively respond to changing client needs get in touch with the team to find out more.