Carers Week: The Benefits of Digital
Details: Written by Kelly Worsnop
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Published:
Carers Week is an annual campaign raising awareness of the care sector and highlighting the challenges unpaid carers face throughout the country.
In the UK alone, 1 in 8 adults are carers, equating to 6.5 million people, with 6,000 people taking on caring responsibilities every day (1).
While the work of the unpaid carer saves the economy £132 billion per year, caring has been linked to challenges, with those people providing high levels of care twice as likely to be permanently sick or disabled.
How can we better support carers?
The work of an unpaid carer is a lifeline for those they look after, and supporting and enabling carers to continue to care effectively is vital.
Recent research has revealed that 72% of carers suffer mental ill-health due to their caring role (2), with at least 195,000 young carers in the UK missing out on many normal aspects of childhood.
Here at The Skills Network, we’re proud to support mental health awareness and we understand that mental health must be made a priority, not just in the care sector but across all industries. That’s why we’ve introduced free courses in mental health, bullying awareness and self-harm, amongst others.
We also work hard to provide relevant training opportunities for carers throughout the country, with free online resources providing upskilling opportunities in a range of care related fields, including:
- Dignity and Safeguarding in Adult Health and Social Care
- Introducing Caring for Children and Young People
- Certificate in Caring for the Elderly
As well as many more… view our range of courses here
What is the role of digital learning?
For many carers, traditional learning environments have created inaccessible learning opportunities and marginalised a community, unable to commit to a 9-5, classroom-based learning environment.
Now, advancements in technology and digital have allowed individuals across many sectors to access learning at a time and place that suits them, opening doors to education and development for all.
The Skills Network is widely supported by key bodies in the health and care sector, and aim to create self-improvement, development and progression opportunities for the thousands of carers undertaking health and social care courses with us.
Together, we can better not only the quality and the lives of those in need, but the lives of the thousands of carers throughout our country.
Find out more about Carers Week here
(1) https://www.carersuk.org/news-and-campaigns/press-releases/facts-and-figures
(2) https://firstaidforlife.org.uk/carers/