Learn from Learning: Free tools to help your business

Every year we spend more than £40 billion on workforce development in the UK. This massive investment is crucial to our continued success in delivering world-class goods and services. And yet, employers and learners often struggle to find the right learning resources for them or to compare different kinds of training or courses.

To help meet that need, the sector skills council Skills for Care and Development has launched Learn from Learning, a new, free-to-use website to help employers and learners discover, compare and evaluate learning resources.

The website is much like TripAdvisor or any online catalogue. Users can search for learning resources, as well as sharing feedback about how effective it was. The evaluation tool aims to measure improve quality-of-life for the individuals they support, such as physical and emotional health; or choice and dignity. Evaluation is quick and based upon a colorful wheel diagram, evaluations can usually be completed in just a couple of minutes.

Learn from Learning is aimed primarily at those working in early years; children and young people’s services; social work; and social care for children and adults in the UK. It is expected to help employers manage employee learning, improve outcomes for those with social care needs, and achieve better value for money.

The website currently includes more than 2,400 learning resources – over 900 of which are free. Users can search for resources by provider name or subject; refine results by price, location or format; and store them in a wish list. They include gems such as a “Gangnam hand washing“ video as well as accredited training.

Learning providers signed up and using the site now include the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), the Care Council for Wales (CCfW), Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), Skills for Care (SfC), Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC), the College of Occupational Therapists, the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), and the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS).

Learn from Learning can be integrated easily into employers own system, providing a single point of access for employees. The website is an innovative and free tool developed as a co-investment from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills through the Employer Investment Fund.