Develop your staff

Innovative, cost-effective ways to get the most from your workforce

One of our employer sponsors describes the benefits of OU study “Keeping experienced and committed staff in the system while they are training is cost-effective and brings immense benefits to both staff and the service.”
David Hawker, Director of Children’s Services, Brighton and Hove City Council

Making an impact

Around 9,000 OU health and social care students (more than half the faculty’s students) are sponsored directly by employers through partnership and commissioning arrangements. Such sponsorships and partnerships include:

• seven of the ten Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) in England
• Scottish Department for Health and local health boards in Scotland
• Department for Health Social Security & Public safety in Northern Ireland
• local Health Boards and NHS Trusts in Wales
• Local Authorities and statutory care-providers
• Independent and voluntary sector health and social care providers across the UK
• The States of Jersey
• local sponsorship arrangements with over 300 employers such as Trusts, Local Authorities and independent healthcare providers.

What employers value:

Employers rate the OU highly for:

• the high quality of our learning and student support (endorsed by professional bodies and external quality reviewers)
• our strong focus on improving practice and the quality of care
• the flexibility and accessibility of our learning (delivered and supported largely without staff absence from the workplace – so highly cost-effective)
• the fact that staff carry on working while they learn, and apply their new knowledge and skills from the start
• the opportunity working with the OU provides to up-skill and motivate staff in their existing roles, and open up routes to further training and career development to keep pace with changes in the sector.