Outsourcing Training in the Public Sector - 8 reasons why its a great idea

Outsourcing training services represents a cost effective and innovative approach to commissioning services. The private sector has long known the benefits of outsourcing services, with the private sector outsourcing market estimated to be worth in excess of $310 Billion in 2008.

With reducing budgets across local authorities and significant changes to the NHS, outsourcing is becoming more attractive, relevant and needed by public sector organisations.

In 2008 the Public Services industry Review found that on average savings of 20% were achieved in the public sector when services are contracted out, that quality does not suffer and that using partnership models to deliver services had real benefits.

With the current political direction of travel there has never been a better time to outsource services to the private and voluntary sector.

Lower Costs –

Outsourcing always means lower costs. The cost of training can be huge, training departments expensive and in-house trainers not always time efficient. With outsourcing costs are lowered through reduction in management, co-ordination, administration and improved processes.

Is training your business? –

Many organisations make the decision to outsource training when they come to the realisation that training is not necessarily their core function. By outsourcing to a specialist provider you can see improved efficiency and outcomes from your training programme.

Improved efficiency and outcomes – 

Outsourcing training also means an increase in efficiency as training companies have processes and professionals working on nothing but training. They also are not bound by organisational demands and can keep up to date on latest learning styles and approaches leading to improved training outcomes.

Reduce capital overheads –

It's not just about the money; there can also be a reduction in associated over heads, from desks space to IT.

Reduction in Risk –

With outsourcing any risk is carried for you, with internal training you carry it. As demand fluctuates companies have to respond and can be left with trainers with nothing to do. With outsourcing you pay for what you need, cutting down on risk and cost.

Only pay for what you need –

In-house training departments are often un-efficient as you pay them whether there training or not, with fixed price outsourcing you know you are getting the best deal possible for yours or the public's money.

Reduction in Staffing –

Unfortunate as it is the public sector is looking to make redundancies and stream line their organisations, outsourcing can help make staffing reductions without impacting on services.

No impact from sickness or annual leave –

By outsourcing training you never have to worry about fitting courses in around your trainer's sickness or annual leave, and with our extensive pool of expert trainers we always have the correct people

With increasing pressure on the public sector outsourcing training is a true growth area. For organisations it represents a significant cost saving, for the tax payer it represents better value and for staff and the public it can represent better services.

With currently few public sector specific outsourcing companies in the market place now is the time for public sector organisations to respond to the increased demands on them.

By outsourcing, organisations can spread the risk and cost over to the private sector and see improved service and outcomes as a result.

Mark Bowles

www.thetrainingeffect.co.uk

Young People and Drugs - What Makes Some More Vulnerable?

No matter what prevention strategies we implement, some young people will unfortunately run into very serious problems in relation to drugs and alcohol.

Thankfully these are the minority of drug using young people, the NTA (National Treatment Agency) puts the figure of young people in drug treatment at 24,053 (Oct 2010) this figure does not necessarily mean all of these young people have serious drug and alcohol problems, but does indicate they did require further support. With an estimated population of 3.1million young people in the UK during the same period this equates to less than 1% in drug treatment.

The reasons for problematic use are often difficult to identify, there are many examples of young people from 'good homes' running into problems with drugs and alcohol, or siblings where one forms a dependency and one does not. What we can identify is not the young people themselves but what may make them more vulnerable.

What makes a young person more vulnerable?

·  Looked after children

·  Homeless

·  Parents who misuse drugs or alcohol

·  Mental Health Problems

·  Parental Mental Health Problems

·  Absent Parents

·  Divorce/Separation

·  Lack of aspirations

·  Poor academic attendance/performance

·  Those in the criminal justice system

·  Sex workers

·  Peer group using drugs

·  Poverty and urban decay

This is not an exhaustive list but does start to paint a picture of the vulnerability factors that we should look for when assessing and screening young people for substance misuse issues.

It should be noted that the above factors do not all necessarily paint the stereotypical picture of substance misusing young people and some of these factors (those concerning parents, education, aspirations and peer group) can be present in any family regardless of social situation.

The situation gets ever more complex because not all young people react in the same way to situations. Children with many of the above vulnerability factors often do not run into any difficulties, going on to lead very positive lives.

One reason that these young people may have been able to respond positively to disadvantage can be protective factors in their lives, identified protective factors include:

•          Supportive family environment

•          Good social support system

•          Caring relationship with at least one adult

•          Attending school

•          In employment

•          Positive temperament

•          Other interests

When working with young people around substance use a key consideration should be the development of protective factors for the young person, this can be achieved through engagement in positive activities, support around schooling or employment amongst others.

One of the best ways for organisations to promote the delivery of protective factors by their staff is through effective training around drugs and alcohol. With many providers in the market place it’s vital that any training commissioned is young person specific, delivered by experts and up to date.

Whilst we cannot definitively identify those that will develop problems with drugs and alcohol, we can screen and assess using the factors above that we know make young people more vulnerable.

If done early this can help prevent future problematic drug use and its associated consequences for young people and their families.


Mark Bowles


www.thetrainingeffect.co.uk

Talking to children about drugs and alcohol – What works?

One of the biggest fears for parents and carers is drug use amongst their children. In 2007 the NHS information centre found that 25% of pupils in England had reported using drugs at least once.

For concerned parents, its sometimes easy to focus on the quarter of young people reporting lifetime drug use, not the three quarters who have never tried it. Even for the majority of young people who report not using drugs its still an issue parents, carers and professionals must face, no matter how difficult and uncomfortable the conversation can potentially be.

Talk about it, but do it carefully......

Talking about any issue is always a good idea, a 'problem shared is a problems halved' has always been a positive piece of advice.

But often parents and professionals often feel un-empowered and lack confidence when discussing this issue, often feeling that their children know more than they do.

When talking to young people about drugs always consider the following:

Do

·                 Explain confidentiality

·                 Listen

·                 Use open questions

·                 Be informed

·                 Try to understand

·                 Empathise

·                 Focus on the person's needs not just the drug

·                 Be realistic

Dont

·                 Judge or criticise

·                 Condone illegal use

·                 Be entirely negative

·                 Jump to conclusions

·                 Overreact or get angry

·                 Be shocked

·                 Use slang terms that you are unsure of

·                 Talk it through while someone is intoxicated

You know more than you think......

Statistically, if your an adult and your reading this then you drink alcohol. Think about the reasons why you and most of the adult population use alcohol, go on make a list in your head. Done? Good, well it probably went something like:

1.relax

2.socialise

3.because of stress

4.enjoyment

5.peer pressure.

Now think about why young people use drugs, lets take cannabis for example, same again make a list in your head. Good, well it probably went something like:

1.relax

2.socialise

3.becaus......

You get the idea. We are not dealing with a subject which is as alien as we first thought, and the reasons for young peoples use is not always negative, the uncomfortable truth for many is that cannabis use is as much about relaxation and enjoyment as having an evening glass of wine.

I must stress the above is not an attempt to condone young peoples drug and alcohol use, far from it, it's about rationalising and discussing a difficult and challenging subject.

Further support

In a short article such as this we are limited in the advice that can be given, when drug and alcohol concerns do manifest one of the best ways to deal with them is to talk to a professional.

Across the country young person specific drug and alcohol agencies exist to provide effective advice, information and treatment for young people, local authority websites should have information on these local services.

In addition specialist providers of training and support exist to provide additional services to carers, parents and professionals.

The real message is if you need further support or don't feel comfortable call in a professional, you wouldn't try and build a house on your own would you?

Mark Bowles

www.thetrainingeffect.co.uk

Mark Bowles is founder of The Training Effect, a training and outsourcing company specialising in the public sector.

Why we Drink Alcohol - A European Perspective

In Europe, countries individual relationships with alcohol can be crudely divided into two camps, celebratory and integrated.

Put simply, integrated cultures have a relationship where alcohol use is accepted as a normal part of life, people may drink at any time of the day, in social situations, work situations and often in front of children. Cultures observed to have integrated drinking cultures may also have warmer climates such as France, Spain and Italy.

By contrast Celebratory drinking cultures are un-integrated when it comes to alcohol. In these cultures alcohol use is not widely accepted in everyday situations and environments, drinking during lunch whilst at work in many professions would be highly frowned upon for instance.

In these cultures  drinking is a cause for celebration, if a celebration is not present it becomes necessary to invent one. Reasons for drinking and celebrating are formed everywhere; Friday becomes a cause of celebration, as does payday, my birthday, your birthday, tough day at work, good day at work, you get the general idea.

In these cultures alcohol effectively exists to the side of society, not within it. It is something additional to everyday life, not a part of it. In contrast to the integrated cultures celebratory cultures often exist in countries with colder climates, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Scandinavia for example.

Whilst training professionals around drugs and alcohol a common comment is that the integrated cultures have fewer problems with drugs and alcohol. Whilst it may be true that they have less incidences of social problems related to drink and drug use, such as drinking influenced anti-social behaviour, is it true they have fewer problems?

The report Alcohol in Europe from the European commission list France, Spain and Portugal as having higher rates of adult alcohol use than the UK.
This may feel somewhat counter intuitive to a UK public fed daily articles and news reports on the high rates of alcohol use and its related harms present today in Great Britain.

The reality that many countries we see as having a mature relationship with alcohol in fact drink more than we do may be difficult to swallow, but what harm does higher rates of alcohol use mean?
The World Health Organisation reported that in 2005 France had higher rates of morbidity from Liver cirrhosis than the UK for Men aged 15 and over. Interestingly the opposite was true amongst females of the same age.

So a seemingly more mature relationship with alcohol does not necessarily mean a reduction or eradication of the harms related to it, like many social problems the answer is undoubtedly more complicated than it may first appear.

It would be simplistic to base our judgement of a countries relationship with alcohol with our observations whilst on holiday, but that is exactly what many of us do, even amongst professionals in the public sector this view is often present, highlighting the need for effective training around alcohol.

It was even true of UK government policy in 2005 with the implementation of the new licensing laws which ministers claimed would lead to a ‘European style café culture', any visitors to a UK town centre may feel its still more Beirut than Biarritz.

The harsh reality of alcohol is that it causes harm and social problems wherever its found, and however its drunk. What we do know to be true is that when used in excess alcohol will undoubtedly cause problems and conditions not just to those that use it but to wider society as well.

Mark Bowles

www.thetrainingeffect.co.uk

Five reasons to invest in training – Whatever the economic climate

Training can often be one of the first areas of any organisation which has its budget reduced in times of economic difficulties. But is this a false economy? And is training really as expensive as many believe?

Below are five reasons why organisations should think very carefully before slashing the training budget.

1. Cost

The initial outlay for training can seem expensive but is it? An average day rate in the public sector is in the region of £350 – 700.

If we use a model of 15 participants per course and a day rate of £550 that is a cost of £36 a head.

This can represent a very cost effective option if specialist expertise is required by an organisation, in drugs and alcohol for instance. Far more cost effective than employing specialist staff full time or running an in house training department.

2. Staff retention

Sounds simple but well trained staff tend to stay where they are.

Staff turnover is a killer for business, the CIPD estimates the average cost per employee to be £8,200, if its managers and senior staff that figure rises to £12,000.

So investment in training and development for staff can pay dividends in the long run, if people want to expand their horizons they usually will, either with your organisation or with someone else’s.

3. Better Training = Better Employees = Happier Customers

An investment in training is not just about skilling up the workforce; better qualified staff can provide a better service through improved knowledge and skills.

We all now what better service means, happier customers. In a time of mass marketing, the internet, Google and social networks we can’t forgot the most important marketing tool of all, word of mouth.

It’s worth remembering that with all the technology in the world business still lives and dies on the strength of its customer experience, make sure your staff are offering the best service they possibly can.

4. Competitive advantage

‘Suddenly it dawned on me. I thought: “I bet (Steve) Ovett’s out there doing his second training session of the day.” I put the kit back on, faced the snow and ice and did a second training session. I ran several miles, including some hill work.

Not long ago, over supper in Melbourne, I told him the story. He laughed. ‘Did you only go out twice that day?’ he asked’

Sebastian Coe, on training twice one Christmas day.

What if your competitors are investing in training?

Organisations who do not invest in the development of their employees are not investing in the future of their business.

Even in times of economic difficulties companies who have continued to invest in training and development find themselves in a much better position to compete when the up turn begins.

The advantage is gained through up to date knowledge and skills and a better understanding of the market place. Make sure you don’t get left behind.

5. Meeting your objectives

Training is also a key element in meeting the strategic objectives of your organisation.

As we have seen in the points above, training hits many of the key elements needed to be a successful, from reducing staff turnover to gaining competitive advantage, investment in training can pay dividends for all who invest in it.

Reduction of a training budget can have far reaching consequences that extend way beyond the initial reduction in cost. For many organisations this cost-saving will be undoubtedly short lived as they see staff turnover increase and competitors over take them.

A strategic view is vital when reviewing your organisations training requirements; don’t ask can you fund it? Instead, ask can you afford not to?

Mark Bowles


www.thetrainingeffect.co.uk

Drug and Alcohol Awareness Training – What works?

Drug and alcohol awareness training is very often one of the most popular courses organisations and providers can offer. The reason being is that it represents an issue that everyone has experience of, and everyone has an opinion on.

But too often drug and alcohol awareness training is commissioned by organisations as little more than a tick box exercise and with so many providers in the marketplace how can you be sure that the training you have commissioned is appropriate for your workforce?

This is a drug……

At its worst drug and alcohol awareness training has consisted of endless representations of drugs, either the drug box (psychical representations of substances) or pictures.

Trainers would then go through an exhaustive list of drugs, their effects, signs and symptoms of use, etc, etc.

Whilst understanding the basics of drugs and their effects is useful, in my experience this does not represent a good use of time, consequently a poor use of your money.

What then……….

To become competent in the effects of drugs does not actually take long. Numerous websites and books exist that can bring you up to speed pretty quickly, we are not talking in depth knowledge of the neurological impact of addiction here.

Like many subjects, some trainers possess a rudimentary grasp of the subject and rely on that well known crutch, PowerPoint, to ensure they cover all they plan to.

Personally I have always felt rather short changed by this approach to training; if it is a purely superficial introduction to a subject I seek surfing a few websites will in most cases suffice.

The value of bringing in a trainer is in the added value and subject knowledge that they bring, the ability to engage with and motivate participants to explore the subject.

The reality of the situation is many providers offer a generic approach to numerous courses, with trainers delivering many, whilst not being a specialist in any.

This raises numerous problems for the customer not least the fact that the training probably does not meet the intended outcome, a deeper understanding of the subject area.

What is effective?

Effective drug and alcohol training needs to look beyond just the drugs and delve deeper, often the drug use itself is symptomatic rather than causal for the person concerned.

We need to consider many elements to effectively support those with problematic relationships with alcohol and drugs.

Effective training should include elements such as treatment options, assessment of need, screening, reasons for use, role of the family, harm reduction, employment and education and associated risk and protective factors as a minimum.

We must accept that drug and alcohol use/misuse is a complicated and difficult issue to address, we cannot hope to support complex clients with simple solutions, and I’m afraid simplistic and superficial training falls squarely in the latter category.

Mark Bowles

www.thetrainingeffect.co.uk

Commissioning in schools – Change for Good?

According to DFE (Department of Education) 1 in 10 schools is now, or in the process of becoming an Academy.

So may say this figure flatters the coalition’s flagship education policy, nonetheless over the life of this parliament schools will become major players in the areas of commissioning and procurement.

Change for Good?

The case for the devolution of budgets to schools can seem a simple one:

More control = More freedom / More freedom = More choice / More Choice = Better Value.

But will it deliver the benefits claimed by the coalition, the government thinks it will and has posted numerous case studies on its website, which can be found here:

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/academies/b0071798/new-academies/

The real question is ‘do schools have the skills and experience to commission effective services?’, do we know what an effective service is and if so where do we find them.

The role of the private and voluntary sector will become key to the success or failure of this policy as funding arrangements and budgets for the next 12 months become clearer.

There will be deep cuts at most local authorities, Hampshire alone have announced 1200 redundancies over the next 12 months and in Norfolk 1000 staff will be axed. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-12223558

The question for schools to put to the local authority is not just ‘how much money will we get if we leave you?’ but also ‘are you a viable delivery partner?’

With the severity of cuts still not fully known local authorities will not be able to offer the range of training and services schools have experienced in the past.

Schools looking for the best value will be free to contract providers outside of the traditional stronghold of local government.

It is the experience of many who have commissioned services that the private and voluntary sector can often deliver better projects with better outcomes for less money.

As support vanishes, schools will need to look for better value workforce development and training for all their staff, from mid-day meal supervisors (an often untapped resource) to teachers.

As many voluntary sector agencies funding ends in March 2011 we may see an eradication of traditional specialist roles that support schools e.g. drug and alcohol support workers / emotional well-being support staff.

The need to commission effective training for school support staff, quite often working with our most vulnerable children, will become key to the development of nurturing and supportive schools.

On a positive note evidence and support exists to support schools when commissioning services, a commissioning guide produced as part of the TaMHS (targeted mental health in schools) programme can be found here http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/SchoolsSO/Page2/DCSF-00326-2010

This is a useful and well written document which can support schools embarking on a programme of commissioning services.

So in summary a challenging time for schools but one which schools will do what they have always done, secure the best deal possible for that most important commodity, the children.

Mark Bowles

www.thetrainingeffect.co.uk