Staff Training and Development Policy

Transcription

1 Staff Training and Development Policy Introduction The University acknowledges that its staff are its most valuable resource, and it is committed to investment in their training and development. The purpose of this investment is, in the words of the Business Plan, ' to develop and train staff in order to achieve business objectives while at the same time ensuring the full utilization of the knowledge and skill of employees' The University's policy for staff training and development is set out under the headings of (1) objectives (2) principles (3) responsibilities (4) mechanisms and (5) evaluation and review in accordance with the University s HR Strategy. Objectives The objectives of the policy are: to enable staff to acquire the knowledge and skills to enable them to perform effectively in their current roles to enable staff to enhance their performance in their current roles to enable staff to respond effectively to the demands placed upon them by internal and external change and development to enable staff to develop their careers effectively within the University Principles In meeting these objectives, the University seeks to apply the following principles: that all staff should have access to appropriate opportunities for initial professional development in their jobs, in accordance with the university s equal opportunities policy that all staff should have access to appropriate opportunities for continuing professional development in their jobs, in accordance with the university s equal opportunities policy that the training and development opportunities provided should be relevant to the needs of staff for their employment at the University that the training and development opportunities provided should be of appropriate quality

2 Responsibilities Individuals are responsible for: reflecting at regular intervals upon their jobs and future career aspirations and identifying their needs for training and development discussing these with their manager during their Performance and Development Review Meetings with a view to establishing priorities in relation to their unit and institutional objectives in conjunction with the above, identifying appropriate opportunities for staff training and development taking full advantage of such opportunities applying newly-developed knowledge and skills to their work and to their careers Managers are responsible for: ensuring that individuals have the opportunity at regular intervals, including their Performance and Development Review meetings to discuss their training and development needs establishing priorities in relation to personal, school/section/institute/centre and institutional priorities and making appropriate provision to meet them within the resources available regularly considering the development and training needs which will assist individuals or groups of staff to respond effectively to internal or external changes in conjunction with staff and the Staff Development Unit, identifying appropriate opportunities for training and development where appropriate, approving attendance at relevant staff training and development activities and making appropriate provision for the release of staff from their duties ensuring equal opportunities in access to training and development is in accordance with the university s Equal Opportunities Policy.

3 Faculty and Senior managers are responsible for: identifying needs for training and development of staff arising from internal and external change at Faculty and University levels liaising with the Staff Development Unit in the provision of appropriate opportunities providing appropriate resources for training and development The Staff Development Unit is responsible for: liaising with managers to provide appropriate opportunities for staff training and development liaising with Faculty and Senior managers to provide appropriate opportunities for staff training and development in response to internal and external change ensuring that training and development opportunities are relevant to the needs of individual staff and/or Faculties and the University delivering, or arranging for the delivery of, appropriate training and development activities ensuring that such activities are conducted in accordance with the University's policy on equal opportunities evaluating training and development activities in order to assure and enhance their quality

4 Mechanisms University Induction Appropriate induction programmes are provided for all new staff within a reasonable period after their initial appointment. Performance & Development Review (PDR) Staff training and development needs identified through PDR are notified to the Staff Development Unit who will provide advice and support on how to meet these needs. University Initial Professional Development Programmes The University seeks to offer initial professional development programmes to its staff. In the case of academic staff, the University requires that, unless they have taken a comparable qualification elsewhere, all new academic staff complete Newcastle Teaching Award (NTA 30 credits which is module 1 of the Certificate in Advanced Studies in Academic Practice (CASAP)). CASAP is a 60-credit qualification which covers all of the main components of academic practice, including teaching and learning, research supervision, research, and academic administration. Successful completion of the full CASAP will lead to eligibility for membership of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). In the case of staff entering managerial posts in the University, a range of opportunities for management development and training are provided, including tailored activities, short workshops, and longer-term programmes. These are administered by the Staff Development Unit. University Continuing Professional Development Programmes Support staff In addition to local training and development activities all categories of University support staff are eligible to attend a series of work related and relevant workshops which are provided centrally by the Staff Development Unit each year in the Annual Programme. Professionally qualified staff are also encouraged to maintain and improve their skills and knowledge by attending relevant continuous professional development workshops. Where specific in-house training and development activities are not available or appropriate, other solutions are explored e.g. external courses, coaching, mentoring, open learning etc.

5 Academic staff As well as having the opportunity to attend workshops on the Annual Programme all of the University's academic staff, including contract research staff, are eligible to attend continuing professional development activities which includes a range of workshops relating to needs identified through the PDR process. Faculty/School/Section/Institute/Centre Development and Training Activities Where specific needs for training and development have been identified, they are provided at Faculty or school/section/institute/centre level. They work in conjunction with the Staff Development Unit to design activities which meet the specific needs of individuals or teams of staff. Individual staff training and development activities The Staff Development Unit offers coaching and mentoring to individual members of staff to help to improve their performance and prospects. Evaluation and Review the Staff Development Unit evaluates all training and development activities which they deliver or administer they report on their activities to Staff Committee Staff Committee is responsible for: (a) (b) reviewing the relevance of staff training and development activities reviewing the quality of staff training and development activities Staff Committee reports to Executive Board. Effective Date 8 October 2003 Approval Staff Committee Policy/Procedure Owner Jo Clark, Assistant Director of HR (Development) Last Reviewed 8 December 2011