Support individuals' learning and development*

Overview

This standard is about providing individuals within your team or area of responsibility with opportunities to address their learning needs and develop their potential to the full.

This standard is relevant to managers and leaders at all levels who have individuals reporting to them.

This standard links closely with all the other standards in key area DC Develop and support individuals and also with CFAM&LAA2 Develop your knowledge, skills and competence, which is about self development.

Performance Criteria

You must be able to:

1. Promote the benefits of learning to people in your area of responsibility and recognise their willingness and efforts to learn.
2. Give individuals objective, specific and valid feedback on their work performance, discussing and agreeing how they can improve.
3. Engage individuals in identifying and obtaining information on a range of possible learning activities to address identified learning needs.
4. Discuss with individuals future roles and responsibilities that are compatible with their competences and potential.
5. Discuss and agree personal development plans which include learning activities to be undertaken, the learning objectives to be achieved, the required resources and timescales.
6. Support individuals in undertaking learning activities, making required resources available and making efforts to remove any obstacles to learning.
7. Provide individuals with appropriate opportunities to apply their developing competences in the workplace.
8. Recognise and make use of unplanned learning opportunities.
9. Discuss with individuals their experience of learning activities and the extent to which learning objectives have been achieved.
10. Discuss with individuals their progress and their readiness to take on new roles and responsibilities, and agree the support and supervision they will require.
11. Appoint individuals to roles and responsibilities that are compatible with their competences and potential.
12. Provide individuals with the support and supervision they require and ensure they receive specific feedback to enable them to improve their performance.
13. Discuss and agree revisions to personal development plans in the light of their performance, learning activities undertaken and any wider changes.
14. Encourage people to take responsibility for their own learning and development, including practising and reflecting on what they have learned.
15. Seek and make use of specialist expertise, where required.

Knowledge and understanding

You need to know and understand:

General knowledge and understanding

1. The benefits of learning for individuals and organisations and how to promote these.
2. Ways in which you can develop a culture in which learning is valued and willingness and efforts to learn are recognised.
3. How to identify potential future roles and responsibilities for individuals. 
4. How to provide individuals with the support and supervision they need. 
5. How to provide individuals with objective, specific and valid feedback designed to improve their performance.
6. How to prioritise individuals’ learning needs, including taking account of organisational needs and priorities and the personal and career development needs of individuals.
7. Different types of learning activities, their advantages and disadvantages and the required resources (for example, time, fees, substitute staff).
8. How/where to identify and obtain information on different learning activities.
9. Why it is important for individuals to have a written personal development plan and what it should contain (for example, identified learning needs, learning activities to be undertaken and the learning objectives to be achieved, timescales and required resources).
10. How to set learning objectives which are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Time-bound).
11. What type of support individuals might need to undertake learning activities, the resources needed and the types of obstacles they may face and how they can be resolved.
12. How to evaluate whether learning activities have achieved their intended learning objectives.
13. The importance of regularly reviewing and updating personal development plans in the light of performance, any learning activities undertaken and any wider changes.
14. How to take account of equality legislation, any relevant codes of practice and general diversity and inclusion issues in providing learning opportunities for colleagues.
15. How to encourage people to take responsibility for their own learning and development, including personal reflection on their performance.
16. Sources of specialist expertise in relation to identifying and providing learning for colleagues

Industry/sector specific knowledge and understanding

1. Industry/sector requirements for the development or maintenance of knowledge, skills and competence.
2. Learning issues and specific initiatives and arrangements that apply within the industry/sector.
3. Working culture and practices of the industry/sector.

Context specific knowledge and understanding

1. Individuals in your team, their roles, responsibilities, competences and potential.
2. Identified gaps in individuals’ knowledge, skills and competence.
3. Identified learning needs of individuals.
4. Learning styles or combinations of styles preferred by individuals. 
5. Individuals’ personal development plans.
6. Learning activities and resources available in/to your organisation.
7. Opportunities for individuals’ career development in your organisation. 
8. Opportunities for applying developing competences in the workplace. 
9. Support and supervision available to individuals within your organisation. 
10. Sources of specialist expertise available in relation to identifying and providing learning and development opportunities for individuals.
11. Your organisation’s learning and personal and professional development policy and practices.
12. Your organisation’s policies in relation to equality and diversity.
13. Your organisation’s performance appraisal systems.