The Workforce Development Fund: everything you need to know
What is the Workforce Development Fund?
The Workforce Development Fund (WDF) is funding from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), disseminated by Skills for Care, either through local adult social care employer-led partnerships or direct from Skills for Care (SfC). The WDF contributes towards costs directly incurred for learning and development, such as course/training fees, travel costs, backfill, supervision, and learning resources. The funding is not payable up-front/ at the start of the learning but accessed upon completion of the qualification or learning/ digital programme. The fund also requires certificate evidence for funds to be accessed. Employers pay any required fee to the learning provider and claim funding upon completion.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can be claimed?
Who can access the WDF?
The fund is only available to adult social care employers with an Adult Social Care Workforce Data set (ASC-WDS) account with specific organisational, workforce and staff records completed.
By regularly updating your account, you can benchmark your organisation against other service providers in your area and compare pay rates, staff turnover, staff sickness and qualifications. Employers who pay the Levy are eligible to access the fund.
What can be funded?
The WDF applies to specific accredited adult social care qualifications, including Apprenticeships, Diplomas, and other smaller qualifications, plus a collection of learning programmes and digital eLearning modules.
Employers must ensure that their learning provider registers staff on qualifications on the funded list, and only endorsed learned providers can offer the specified learning programmes. Employers need to identify their own learning provider for accredited qualifications.
You can view the full list of funded programmes here.
Who benefits from the WDF?
The WDF provides benefits for everyone involved. For employers, it provides funding to support the cost of learning, development and CPD of staff teams, including leaders and managers. Once employers have started claiming, they often receive a regular stream of funding, helping bolster their learning and development budget.
The fund also positively affects recruitment and retention as employers feel more confident making effective staff development plans.
Staff who want to feel confident in their practice, motivated and valued for their contribution can benefit from the opportunities available through the WDF.
How to apply
Each employer-led partnership has an administrator who will guide employers through the process, making it as straightforward as possible. The list of Employer Led Partnerships is available here.
For employers using the direct funding route, Skills for Care has a team on hand to support them.
Before applying
- Employers need to apply for an ASC-WDS account or ensure their existing account is updated.
- Complete the Members Declaration Form. This form captures basic information from the employer about their service and highlights who will be the key point of contact for the WDF.
Once employers have completed the above, they can join a partnership and work towards claiming.
You can find more information about the application process and useful contact information on the Skills for Care website here.
Leading Change Improving Care Course
Skills for Care has awarded us the new Leading Change and Improving Care Course, which is starting in January 2022. The government is funding this training and will reimburse you for courses completed. See the course page for more details.
