Editors PickApril 2020 The impact of Coronavirus and implications of this on all areas of s...
The impact of Coronavirus and implications of this on all areas of society are only just starting to be felt and the long term impact of this for everyone will only play out in the coming weeks and months. Clearly, ensuring that we all follow government advice on staying home to save lives is critical and we hope that everyone is staying safe and well at this challenging time.
Amongst the challenges faced, employers and apprentices are facing up to the reality of furloughing and trying to understand what this means for their ongoing development and continuation of study.
The government has confirmed that employers and learners are in a position to continue their learning during any period of furloughing, meaning that this presents an opportunity to offer stability in uncertain times through the continuation of learning to develop their skills for there here and now and the future. Further information can be seen through the FE Week website – feweek.co.uk – under the article on furloughing of staff.
Furloughing provides relief for struggling businesses on being able to retain their staff during this time of crisis and the chance to continue professional development is welcome step from the government.
All training providers, including Pareto, will be looking to engage with their learners during any furlough period in order to continue learning with them towards their qualification. This can include the opportunity for completion of studies and final assessments where possible, for which the End Point Assessment Organisations are filtering out guidelines around the completion of final assessment activities.
With the expected release of guidance from Functional Skills providers in the coming days, the momentum is there to ensure that this period of uncertainty does not disrupt the learning for existing apprentices or delay the opportunity for new learners to start their professional development.
Please contact Pareto if you are or have live learners and are looking for any further guidance
around the current situation and we hope that you all stay safe.
With the current lockdown in the UK, there are major concerns around the impact of the whole situation on the mental health of all in society, due to the anxiety of events and issues such as isolation that many are facing.
In light of this, Public Health England has released guidance around Mental Health for all during this time, details of which can be found in the article on ‘Guidance for the public on mental health and wellbeing’, accessed through the government website – gov.uk/government/publications.
