Site guide
Education and training opportunities for carers
Keeping your work skills and expertise current and up to date may be very important to you especially if you feel the time you are taking to provide care is eroding this. Many carers have skills and experience which would be valuable to employers but we don't always see ourselves in that way. Carers who have lost opportunities to train for employment might not see a way into the workforce. Too often isolation and the caring role can undermine confidence and limit choices.There are people who can help
- By helping you stay at work (by helping to arrange respite cover or making flexible work arrangements for example).
- By helping you back into employment if you have had to leave your job.
- By helping you continue to develop your skills whilst also having caring responsibilities.
- By helping to find some training and assisting in organising respite cover to allow you to undertake it.
- By helping to find some training which you could do at home at times that better match your needs, quite possibly online.
- By helping to find sources of funding to contribute to the costs.
- By helping you to plan how will you use your time.
It may be worth remembering that this help can also be made available for the person you look after.
Expert Patients Programme training course (added 1.2.10)
This is a free six week course for anyone living with any long-term health condition/s. The programme aims to provide support and develop self-confidence to help you feel more in control. Other free courses include: New Beginnings - for those whose life has been affected by living with, or being in recovery from, a mental health condition; Looking After Me - for adults who care for someone living with a long-term health condition or disability; an interactive web-based course to learn to manage the day-to-day issues associated with living with a long-term health condition; Substance and Alcohol Misuse (SAM) - for people in recovery from alcohol and substance misuse; Supporting Parents Programme - for anyone who cares for a child with a long-term health condition; The COPD and Breathlessness - aims to equip people living with COPD and breathlessness with the confidence, skills and motivation to manage their condition effectively and take control of their lives; Persistent Pain Programme - self-management course for people who live with day-to-day persistent pain; X-PERT diabetes course - for anyone diagnosed with diabetes; and Staying Positive - for 11-18 year olds to help enhance all aspects of your life - from managing your condition to increasing your career prospects. For more details visit www.expertpatients.co.uk
Carers of people with dementia in Sussex to benefit from free knowledge and skills programme (added 22.1.10)
Caring with Confidence is a free programme which helps carers aged 18 and over build on their own strengths, share experiences and gain useful information, ideas and tips about looking after someone with dementia to help them decide how to make positive changes to their caring role. The programmes are being run by Alzheimer’s Society’s trained facilitators across West Sussex, starting in Lancing in early March. The eight sessions will cover a variety of topics and issues, as well as providing the opportunity for carers to discuss their own personal experiences and tips. Carers attend an introductory session – Finding your Way - and then choose which other sessions to attend depending on their own caring situation: Caring and Coping; Caring and Me; Caring Day-to-Day; Caring and Resources; Caring and Life; Caring and Communicating; Caring for Someone Living with Dementia.
To find out more about a programme in your area, or to register for sessions contact Kerrie Stapley on 01403 276649. For those unable to attend a local group session, Caring with Confidence also provides self-study workbooks and online sessions. These routes allow carers to work through the sessions at their own pace and at a time convenient to them. Further information can be found at www.caringwithconfidence.net or by phoning 0800 849 2349.
Work Related Interviews
Princess Royal Trust for Carers (PRTC) report a lot of carers are receiving letters requesting they go to work related interviews. Their suggestion is ''if attending the interview presents a problem ring the sender and try to see if they will come to you.''
You can get more information from:
- www.carersuk.org - project from Carers UK that aims to address a wide range of issues affecting carers who work or who want to work.
- www.learning-for-living.co.uk - Online learning for unpaid carers
There are people who can help:
West Sussex Carers Support Services (formerly West Sussex Carers Network)
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