Forth Valley College’s new Digital Skills Transforming Care Course was officially launched at a special online event today (Tuesday 16 June) – and is set to become an essential qualification for key workers across Scotland.
The new online course aims to deal with the ‘new normal’ for healthcare which has evolved from the Coronavirus epidemic and lockdown, and ensure that digital skills are integrated into the training of care staff across the Forth Valley area to meet the demands of a changing sector.
An investment of £64,744 from the Scottish Funding Council’s College Innovation Fund has helped to support the development of the project and course coordinators hope the Digital Skills Transforming Care course will establish digital health and care as a key learning priority for staff, with the potential to reach 3,200 care at home staff who are currently employed across the Forth Valley region.
The project - a joint partnership between FVC, Time for You Care, Able Health Care, Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership and Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership - was selected following a highly competitive Scotland-wide bidding process run by the Scottish Funding Council.
Forth Valley College staff have been at the forefront of the new course which was soft launched on Wednesday 18 March at Dundee and Angus College, by Ivan McKee MSP, Scotland’s Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation.
Jane Muir, Project Manager said: “The collaborative nature of this project has brought employers together with Forth Valley College and work will continue to utilise opportunities and share aspirations for workforce and sector development in the future”.
Detailed update blogs for the innovative new digital health care course are now available on the Scottish Funding Council website and will bring those interested in the new Digital Skills Transforming Care online course up to speed with the latest developments, and provide information on how applying for and being accepted on the course can enhance professional best practice.
The blogs can be found here.
Employer validation of the new course was completed in May with employers feeling that this course represents exactly where they want staff to be in terms of digital skills development. The online enrolment form for the course can now be accessed via the flexible learning page of Forth Valley College website.
Sarah Higgins, Curriculum Manager the Department of Care, Sport and Construction, said: “We are very excited about the launch of this new course which will help train the next generation of care providers and furnish them with the latest skills needed to provide health care in the digital age.
“The introduction of this new course will also increase the opportunities for care service users to engage with digital technologies, which could support them in living more independently in their own home for longer.”
Karen Watt, Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said: “Colleges are fantastic at adapting and responding rapidly to Scotland’s changing needs – for students, employers, and health and social care providers. I am delighted our College Innovation Fund is supporting projects of the quality and ambition of this new digital health course – helping our key care workers with the vital training and skills they need at this challenging time.”
For more information on the course e-mail jane.muir@forthvalley.ac.uk