The government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been a valuable lifeline to many businesses. Allowing them to retain their teams and place them on furloughed status rather than having to declare redundancies. Now that the scheme has been extended until 30th April 2021, and with people being able to take advantage of flexi-furlough patterns, it’s important to remember what your teams could be doing at home to support their own personal development and keep them engaged while not working.
Find out more about training and personal development when furloughed below.
Shortly after the scheme was announced, the Government updated their guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, confirming furloughed employees can continue training.
The guidance also states that in most cases the furlough payment of 80% of an employee’s regular wage, up to the value of £2,500, will cover the cost of these training hours so the employer will not have an additional cost.
Our own research has shown that employees that have been offered personal development during furlough increased their opinion of their employer, leading to a more engaged and supportive team on reopening.
Encouraging your team to utilise personal development courses during furloughed time is a positive way for your team members to remain connected and engaged with your business.
Our own Chief Operating Officer, Jamie Campbell said: “We have seen first-hand the positive impact of offering learning and development opportunities has had on furloughed employees during periods of lockdown. Being able to be proactive allows hospitality team members to remain connected and engaged to their employers while furloughed. When teams return to their businesses, we know operations need to be as focused and efficient as possible. So, encouraging engagement and skill development in this downtime is crucial, so your biggest assets are ready to deliver.”
We have already launched a range of free learning resources to support the hospitality sector in navigating this challenging time with over 168,000 courses allocated so far. This includes our Mental Health Support Champion and Personal Resilience courses to help support people’s emotional well-being.
We’re also still discounting a wide range of our online hospitality and compliance courses by 75% to help employers support their teams.
Since April of last year we have added more free courses and resources, including our new Aspire channel featuring inspiring and engaging content for hospitality team members.
We’re adding new courses and resources regularly, so you’ll be able to continue to support your furloughed teams in their personal development at home.
“We will continue to support the hospitality sector during this time and develop content and resources for those looking to use this time to develop personally. Our teams are already working on developing more new courses and projects that we are looking forward to sharing in the upcoming weeks.” Campbell added.
Follow us on our social channels for updates about our upcoming courses and personal development resources.
