Learning at Work Week

Learning at Work Week 2021 takes place between 16th and 22nd May.

LAWW focuses on our human capacity to learn, how we can be great lifelong learners and the importance of connection and community for empowered people and dynamic organisations.

Why is it important?

Learning a new skill in the workplace helps stave off boredom and keeps your interest levels high.

Doing the same things over and over again at work can quickly lead to boredom as it becomes monotonous. However, learning new skills helps to break that cycle, making day to day work life much more interesting.

Here are 3 reasons to invest in your learning:

1.You’re entitled to the tools you need to succeed, right from the start

Good induction is more than a few introductory chats. New starters – at all levels – sometimes struggle to know, and gain, the universal skills and knowledge necessary for working effectively in government. If we are serious about giving everyone an equal chance to succeed, then we have to give them equal opportunities to do so.

What can you do?

• Share the new Induction to the Civil Service course details with a new colleague, it takes place every month.
• Test your own knowledge of the Civil Service by joining one of the inductions.
• If you are a senior leader, book your place on an SCS induction or orientation here. Open for new SCS and tailored programmes for all new deputy directors and directors.

2.You need new skills for the challenges of modern government

Along with universal knowledge and skills, we need to equip ourselves for the digital age. The basics of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) are essential to every role. Big data analysis and interpretation, digital capabilities, and scientific methods, are core to approaching most public policy challenges. We need to know enough about them to know when and how to seek specialist support.

At the same time, excellence in public administration will always be in demand. That means perfecting and practising skills – subjective judgement, managing people, complex trade-offs – that robots are unlikely to learn. The fact is, these things are essential for running and transforming complex systems.

As we progress through our careers, we need to acquire practical skills to achieve tangible results: managing projects, managing performance, managing people. The Government Campus is bringing clarity and accessibility to the practical knowledge and skills leaders and managers need, as they build experience through their careers through the Leadership College for Government.

What can you do?

• Explore the strand 2: Working in government training
• Explore the strand 1: Foundations in public administration training
• Follow the Leadership College for Government and look out for the new Leading to Deliver prospectus this May 2022.

You can develop your technical skills and support your career progression

On joining the Civil Service and throughout your career, you can join a profession and cross-government function, and move between them. You’ll have a defined ‘domain’ of skills and knowledge, and a community of practice, providing both formal and informal expertise, accreditation and ‘licence to practice’.

You’ll be supported in a clear career pathway, which will be relevant beyond government and the public sector: finance, law, economics, commercial, debt management, communications.

What can you do?

• Explore strand 4: Specialist skills training
• Find out about developing specialist skills in government
• Explore strand 5: Domain knowledge training
• Get clued up on the climate and environment with this new 20 minute course

For these reasons and more, now is the time to access training for you.