- Conference
- 2004 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 2 January 2004
- Decision
- Carried
The Ancillary Sector membership has a long history of under investment by managers in the NHS; providing learning and training opportunities to ancillary staff has never been a priority. It is often viewed as unnecessary by some employers or treated in a slipshod and half-hearted fashion by others who under value ancillary staff and their role in the health service.
Years of competitive tendering, PFI and PPP schemes have compounded what should be an unacceptable situation. Ancillary staff are an integral part of the NHS family and no one should be denied the opportunity to grow in the workplace. Career development opportunities must be made available to all NHS workers whether directly or indirectly employed. Effective workplace learning may only be possible through a co-ordinated approach that involves all employers in the NHS.
Currently there are little, if any, career structures for ancillary staff in the NHS, whether employed directly or in the private sector. If the skills escalator in the NHS is to become a reality then ancillary staff should have the same opportunities as “professional”/state registered staff to develop career paths. This means that information and advice on career opportunities must be as available to them as it is for others in the NHS. We need to recognise that many of our ancillary members would welcome the chance to train and develop skills they could use to their advantage in pursuit of better job opportunities.
Conference is called upon to recognise the particular difficulties such as PFI, PPP and Competitive Tendering with private management and private management attitudes faced by ancillary members, and that these members are the most likely to be denied access to training and development opportunities and calls on the Service Group Executive to campaign on:
1.Wider access to educational and training opportunities through vocational training programmes with recognised certification for ancillary staff;
2.Ensuring that paid release for training is given by all employers;
3.Ensure that all employers within the NHS are committed to training the ancillary workforce;
4.Work with all employers to develop workplace learning programmes specifically aimed at ancillary staff;
5.Work with employers to develop career paths for those joining the NHS at ancillary level;
6.Make ancillary staff aware of what training/learning opportunities are available to them;
7.Encourage ancillary members to access training, development and learning opportunities and to become workplace learner representatives;
8.Work with employers to develop personal development plans in line with the government initiative to ensure that all NHS workers have in place a Personal Development Plan.