Every social care provider knows that finding, training and keeping the right staff is key to good services. As staff turnover rates rise and recruitment becomes a constant activity, the burden of inducting new staff properly can become a forlorn merry-go-round of seemingly pointless activity. Yet - we also know that not inducting staff into the way we want them to work produces more problems in the end and increases early departures too.

Here is some good news for EASPD members!  The European Care Certificate (ECC) is an entry level qualification, based on UNCRPD values, available in many EU countries.  EASPD has just completed converting a taught course for the ECC into an online self-access course. It is available via the Learning Hub as a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) and is free to access, register and use. At present the course is only available in English but other languages will soon be added.

I have been involved with the ECC since it started in 2007. With over 10,000 exam candidates across 16 countries it has been a consistent example of focussing on the ‘essentials’ that every worker in the sector needs to know to work safely and with the right values and attitudes. Putting aside workplace-specific ‘essentials’, the ECC covers all the key things about practice and safety which are common to every care-worker in every EU state. A big problem for the multinational consortium which created the ECC was to agree on the content of the Basic European Social Care Learning Outcomes (BESCLO) without making it too big. Our experience to date shows we got it about right.

It is possible (but not mandatory) to test for a worker’s knowledge and understanding of the BESCLO through an hour long multiple choice exam.  Lead Partners in each ECC country can organise this for you – online or on paper.  For those who pass the ECC has been rated at Level III on the European Qualification Framework. The exam has  a 70% pass rate.

Until now it was necessary for an ECC-trained trainer to take learners through the 54 learning outcomes on the BESCLO, but with the arrival of the ECC MOOC learners can now do this for themselves and at zero cost. So, if you are concerned about the whole ‘induction burden’ on your organisation the ECC can now provide you with an easy answer.

Why not give it a try? Access the ECC MOOC here

James Churchill is Director of Social Care Training ltd and an EASPD Board member