Lesley O’Connor, head of health and social care at training provider Realise, discusses the benefits of diplomas over the new L2 Adult Care Certificate.

Diplomas are underused by health and social care professionals and are often the best way to obtain valuable, career-enhancing qualifications, according to an industry training expert.

Lesley O’Connor, head of health and social care at training provider Realise, said diplomas are an alternative option to the new L2 Adult Care Certificate and are more flexible, fully funded and can be tailored to an employer’s and the individual’s particular needs.

Diplomas are also attractive to employers as they require less bureaucracy, O’Connor revealed.

O’Connor said: “The new L2 Adult Care Certificate has been heavily pushed but it has been reported that the administration involved for employers is proving to be a significant barrier. In order to put an employee through the qualification, employers need to register with the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set through the Department for Health and Social Care and provide regular progress updates.

“When choosing diplomas as a starting point for knowledge and skills development, there is no registration required and no Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set. The length of the programme is also shorter, with the care certificate taking up to nine months to complete and the diploma six months.

“The truth is, the value of a diploma to both the employer and employee supersedes the L2 Adult Care Certificate – and there is far less admin involved. Almost every part of the L2 Adult Care Certificate is embedded within the diploma, so the learner is not missing out.

“If a candidate does not meet the eligibility criteria for a diploma, then the L2 Adult Care Certificate might be the sensible route. Otherwise, I would nearly always recommend a diploma as a fantastic way to expand knowledge and skills.”

Under the Adult Skills Fund, diplomas are usually fully funded for anyone aged 19 and over, as long as they have lived in the UK for three years. There are some other eligibility requirements in devolved areas – and in some areas, workers from overseas can start a diploma as soon as they arrive in the country under a Health and Care Worker visa.

Learners can also qualify for funded diplomas if they earn below the low wage threshold, which varies from area to area. The thresholds have recently been raised in various authorities, to £35,000 a year in Liverpool, for example, and £27,500 a year in West Yorkshire.

Unlike the Care Certificate, there are no formal maths or English tests at the end of the diploma, though development is encouraged throughout the programme.

Realise works with employers to develop diplomas that are bespoke and built around the six specialisms: elderly residential care services, dementia care services, learning disability care services, treatment and recovery care services, mental health care services and community care services.

O’Connor said: “Tailoring our programmes is extremely valuable as it ensures the skills being developed are relevant to the role the learner holds. It helps them to develop in the areas they are most interested in which in turn leads to an enjoyable learning experience.”

Realise is increasingly using AI to help with creating interactive resources that are bespoke for employers.

“AI is allowing us to tailor the courses for employers in new and exciting ways,” said O’Connor. “For example, one employer had a problem around their staff understanding how whistleblowing should be seen as a tool to support themselves and the employer, so we used AI to create bespoke modules in that area to develop the staff.

“With AI we can use photographs from an employer’s environment and embed those into the learning materials, which we know from our research helps to build a depth of understanding.

“The resources we provide to a learner go far beyond a simple textbook. We are able to offer interactive learning resources with clips and videos which the learner can interact with and engage with different scenarios based on their responses.

“It’s just another way we are consistently raising the bar in health and social care training.”

Realise is accredited to deliver Adult Skills Fund courses in West Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, West Midlands, Tees Valley and other non-devolved areas in England.

O’Connor added: “Helping learners find the right programme for them is central to the Realise ethos. The L2 Adult Care Certificate will have value for employers who are working with people ineligible for the diploma but, generally, the diploma is the preferred route.”