If I employ someone with care experience and an NVQ 2 in health and social care, do they still need to complete the care certificate?

Answered by Sheila Scott

Dear J,

Interestingly I was asked a similar question a few years ago and it is one that does pop up quite frequently in my mailbox. The answer is actually, No. What you need to do though is undertake an induction for the person introducing the person to your service and covering areas such as Fire Safety, Infection control, medication safeguarding and all your other Policies and Procedures. For reassurance, there is also a Skills for Care Certificate self-assessment form and I know that many employers are using this to identify any possible gaps in an individual’s knowledge that the person might like to have further training in. You can find the self-assessment form on the Skills for Care website: http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Documents/Learning-and-development/Care-Certificate/The-Care-Certificate-Self-Assessment-Tool.pdf. There are also some new additional tools on the skills for care site with links to free e-learning that can help meet any knowledge gaps your new employee may have.