WE HAVE MOVED As mentioned in our last newsletter we would like to inform you that our Head Office in Birmingham has now moved to its new premises. We would like to take this opportunity to invite you to come along and look at our new offices and meet our Customer Service Team. Please come and join us for a coffee morning on Wednesday 3rd December at 10.30am until 12pm Omega Training Services Ltd Birmingham Branch 3rd Floor Centre Court 1301 Stratford Road Hall Green B28 9HH Tel: 0121 433 3548 Omega Training Services Ltd Wakefield Branch Diamond House Diamond Business Park Thornes Moor Road Wakefield West Yorkshire WF2 8PT Tel: 01924653176 Matrix In August 2014 we had our Matrix Review. Matrix is a quality standard for information, advice and guidance services. We are very proud and pleased to announce that we have met the standard once again. We would like to take this opportunity to share with you good practice that has been identified from this assessment and the strengths that Omega have demonstrated to the assessor The service has clearly defined measureable aims and objectives, which link to any wider organisational strategic aims The service is provided with clear leadership and direction The service is defined so that learners are clear about that they might expect When exploring options, learners are provided with and supported to use appropriate resources including access to technology Some quotes from learners include “I fell through the net at school, but here your learning style is understood” “They put a structure together that suited my needs and worked around me” “If they hadn't pushed me, I wouldn't have done it. It gave me confidence” We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our learners and employers who took part in our Matrix assessment and without your comments and experiences non of this would have been possible. Have you heard of the Workforce Development Fund? Do you need funding to develop your staff? What is the workforce development fund? The Workforce Development Fund (WDF) is a funding stream from the Department of Health disseminated by Skills for Care via a network of organisations and employer led partnerships. What is its aim? WDF supports the achievement of qualification units and continuing professional development of staff across the adult social care sector in England. BCDA Learning and Development Service have recently secured funding to support Care Providers and Direct Payment employers in accessing funding for QCF qualifications for their staff. This funding is called the Workforce Development Fund. A wide range of QCF units are eligible for funding including all units that are covered by the level 2 and 3 Diplomas and Adult pathway in the Level 5 Diploma in Health and Social Care. As your training provider we will support you to complete all claim forms, however this will incur an administration fee of £50.00 per learner. For further information please don't hesitate to contact either Debbie Campbell or Natalie Black at Omega on 0121 433 3548. Alternatively you can contact Sandbar Zaman or Annette Dunkley at BDCA Learning and Development on 0121 464 1326. Staff Changes In our newsletters we like to welcome and introduce our new staff. In this newsletter we would like to welcome the following new members of our team Jean Gavaghan TLA Co-ordinator Antonia Yeoman TLA Co-ordinator Sophie Wood TLA Co-ordinator At Omega we like to support young people in to the work industry. We have in the last month recruited two new Business Administration Apprentices. They are already making a valued contribution to the business admin team. Mariam Rahman Lois Goodair We would like to take this opportunity to highlight success of individual TLA or Admin staff who have recently been promoted within the organisation due to their hard work and dedication. Well done to the following staff Amanda Broadhead Team Leader Lewis Taylor Team Leader Janet Linwood Deputy Team Leader Christine Morgan Senior TLA Co-ordinator Charlotte Nicol Customer Service Advisor Leanne Swailes Customer Service Advisor Website www.omega-training-services.co.uk On our website you will be able to access an Online Application Form, view the full version of our Ofsted Report and recent Matrix Report. Any changes or up and coming events will be displayed on our website. Employee of the Month Each month we like to celebrate a member of our staff team for their achievement, hard work and dedication. Please see the most recent winners. August Amanda Broadhead September Leigh Clutterbuck Spotlight On Have you read it yet? Every two months we issue a Spotlight On to all of our learners, this focuses on current issues within the social media. It aims to offer information and tackle current topics that may be the focal point of group discussion with friends or colleagues. September 2014– In this edition we focus the Spotlight On Feminism and what makes someone a feminist. Spotlight On can also be accessed on our website. Please ensure your members of staff have received their copy. Information Advice and Guidance every week at Omega At our Birmingham Office we are offering a service every week to our learners where they have the opportunity to visit the office and receive information, advice or guidance from a member of the Customer Service Team. Our Wakefield branch offer this service as a telephone call. Please see below for times and days that this service is available. Birmingham-Mondays 2-4pm. To make an appointment please contact Natalie Black on 0121 433 3548 The Wakefield Office– Tuesday 2-4pm. Please contact Carmel Gallagher on 01924653176 Inductions Short Courses Inductions are around three hours long and include a computer based Maths and English (and if required ICT) Assessment. Below is a list of short courses that we offer free of charge for any learner currently on a programme with us. Each learner has access to only ONE short course. The courses are: First Aid Manual Handling Health and Safety To book a place on these courses and for more information please contact Fiona Lamont on 0121 433 3548. The inductions will either take place at our offices or in your workplace. We are flexible and will suit the needs of our employers and learners to ensure their Induction process is effective and gives them all of the necessary information to make an informed choice about their learning journey. Apprenticeship Vacancies Online If you would like to post a advert for vacancies you have within your organisation then Omega can help. We are able to post vacancies on the Apprenticeship Vacancies Online and this service is completely free of charge. We can post a vacancy for an Apprenticeship opportunity within your workplace and we can then support the individual through their Apprenticeship Qualification. From the 1st October 2014 the Apprenticeship wage will be £2.73 per hour. If you would like more information on this then please contact Natalie Black on 0121 433 3548 or email your interest to [email protected] Taught Sessions Functional Skills Taught Sessions Taught Sessions are being held at Omega Training Services Limited every Wednesday for learners completing the Health and Social Care Qualification. These sessions cover the mandatory units and offer support with the knowledge for these units The sessions will be every Wednesday 10:00am-2:00pm. If you would like to book any of your learners on these sessions, please do not hesitate to give Jodie Harrison a call to reserve a space for you. Alternatively, these sessions can be carried out at the learners workplace. Arrangements will then need to be made with the assessor directly. Workshops are also being held at Omega Training Services Limited for any learners completing their Functional Skills Qualification. The sessions are; English Support: Monday 12:00am-4:00pm Mathematics Support: Tuesday 12:30pm-4.30pm Friday 10:30am-2:30pm To book a place on these sessions, either talk to your TLA Co-ordinator or alternatively contact a member of the Functional Skills team on, 0121 433 3548. ICT support is available but please contact Louise Organ on 0121 433 3548 to book an appointment. Learner of the Year 2014 Each year, we celebrate the success of learners who have achieved their qualifications and made a difference to the workforce. We ask our employers to nominate learners who they feel have benefitted from completing their Apprenticeship or Advanced Apprenticeship and by doing so have excelled. We look forward to this event each year as it enables us to recognise individuals who have demonstrated skills within the workplace that have made a difference to their organisation. This year our annual Learner of the Year Presentation will be held on Thursday 20th November 2014 At The Beeches Conference Centre 76 Selly Oak Road Bournville Birmingham B30 1LS If you would like to nominate an individual staff member that meets the criteria then please complete the attached nomination form and send it to Natalie Poolton Omega Training Services Limited 3rd Floor Centre Court 1301 Stratford Road Hall Green Birmingham B28 9HH Alternatively email it [email protected] Suggestion Box At Omega we value the opinions of both our learners and employers, therefore we would like to know what you would like to see in our next newsletter? Name: Comments: Please send this back to us by post or hand into your assessor at your next meeting.