Stretching Your Training Pound

According to a recent poll on The Guardian website 70% of charities think there are holes in their charities skill set. But when you have a restricted budget, just how do you go about plugging these gaps?

Martin Baker, founder and CEO of The Charity Learning Consortium, will be adding his insights to a workshop looking at ways to 'stretch your training pound' at the third sector skills and training conference Our People Our Skills Our Future in London on 20 November, organised by the charity Skills - Third Sector.

Martin is passionate about supporting charities and not for profits do 'more for less' within their learning & development budgets, and is a great advocate of collaborative working as a way to share knowledge and expertise.

He'll join Graham Leigh, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Skills - Third Sector in a special workshop which will be looking at low and no cost ways to develop talent in the sector. The Charity Learning Consortium is also sponsoring the Skills for Organisational Development stream of workshops at the event.

Our People Our Skills Our Future has an impressive line up of speakers, including Dame Mary Marsh, Director of the Clore Social Leadership Programme, former Chief Executive of NSPCC, and newly appointed to lead a review into leadership and skills in the third sector. The conference will provide a great opportunity to learn about the implications of the skills review, as Dame Mary Marsh will be sharing a platform with Civil Society Minister Nick Hurd MP, who appointed her to lead it.

Martin Baker commented: "It's been a great week for learning and development in the third sector, with the announcement that Dame Mary Marsh is to lead a review into leadership and skills. So the Our People Our Skills Our Future conference is incredibly timely.

"I'm delighted to be sharing my knowledge of free and affordable ways to build essential skills on a charity budget, chief amongst these being collaborating with other charities - together charities can achieve so much more than when they face challenges alone."

Our People Our Skills Our Future is part of Skills - Third Sector's ongoing work to support the development of an ambitious, skilled and adaptable third sector workforce. Presenters will be encouraging delegates to share and collaborate, and think of their colleagues (staff, volunteers and trustees) as strategic assets.

The voluntary sector is a huge employer, with more than three quarters of a million paid staff, and works with a staggering 19.8 million volunteers. But - as The Guardian poll confirms - many of the sector's organisations say 'skills gaps' have a negative impact on their effectiveness and efficiency.

Keith Mogford, Chief Executive of Skills - Third Sector commented: "We believe this conference is a timely opportunity for the sector to focus on its skills needs, given the priority now being given to this by Government."

Find out more at www.charitylearning.org