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.



Inspiring Employment - disability e-Course (added 10.8.12)
Free innovative e-course providing disabled people, their friends, family and professionals with positive and practical information on employment and disability. This seven week course guides you through video interviews with 13 global contributors, video introductions filmed on location around London, and a range of resources in the form of external websites. Visit: www.ecourses.martynsibley.com

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

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

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