5 days: 4 November - 2 December 2008
10am - 4pm
Closing date: 3 October 2008 The course is designed such that attendance on all days is necessary.
This course has evolved from our General Advice Skills course and is aimed at relatively new advice workers and volunteers who want to gain an understanding of the principles of good practice in advice work and develop their basic advice-giving skills.
The course receives a Manchester Advice Accreditation
Course Programme:
Day 1: General Introduction to Advice Work
Including topics such as: What we understand by advice?, Equal Opportunities and Confidentiality in advice work;
Day 2:
Interviewing Clients & Negotiating
Including topics such as: effective communication looking at Barriers to Communication; Body Language; Advocating and Negotiating and Listening Skills.
Overcoming common difficulties of advice work
Including topics such as: dealing with "challenging" clients; dealing with the emotional issues of being an adviser; assertiveness; using interpreters and awareness of tailoring advice to specific groups.
Day 3:
Telephone and Electronic Advice Skills
Including topics such as: Data Protection legislation and Delivering email advice.
Case-recording
Producing clear and accurate case records.
Day 4:
Finding, Using and Explaining Information
Including topics such as: Types of Information Resources;
Progressing a Client's Case
Action Plans, Customer Care letters.
Day 5: The Advice World Context
Including topics such as: Networking and Referrals; Court and Tribunal systems; Community Legal Services (CLS) and the Quality Mark.
Advice Knowledge Days
In the term following the course we intend to run a series of complementary awareness days aimed at providing initial overviews of different advice subject areas. These courses will be awarded a Manchester Advice Certificate of Attendance but only for students who have completed the skills course. The subject days will include:
- Employment;
- Immigration;
- Debt;
- Housing;
- Consumer;
For welfare benefits we run many individual courses for example "Introduction to Disability Benefits". We also run a 10-week accredited Introduction to Welfare Benefits course.
Individual learning & development plans
A new element to this course, which we feel will offer substantial benefits to trainees is the introduction of learning and development plans for trainees at the end of the skills programme. These plans will inform students about employment, training and volunteering options in the advice world and identify any further training needs.
The learning and development session will take the form of one individual learning & development interview and may lead to the student being linked up to a mentor adviser. The mentor's role may include facilitating shadowing, visits to court or tribunals and consultancy if needed.
Cost of course
Training venue
Training terms & conditions
New accreditation & assessment arrangements
Booking form
Contact the Training Unit
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Information Provider:
Jane Bevan
Date Written:
19 December 2006
Date Reviewed:
12 April 2007