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What's on offer?
Containing over 1500 courses and programmes, Prospectus Online has everything you need to develop the skills, behaviours and networks you need for a successful career in the Civil Service.
For ease of navigation, all the courses have been grouped into five broad areas: core skills; skills for government; leading and managing; specialist skills for government professions; and domain knowledge. This allows you to take charge of your own development by selecting what you need from each area, whether that’s the universal skills required at the start of your time as a civil servant or the more specialist skills you’ll likely come to rely on as your career develops.
Whether you’re browsing for your own benefit, or looking for something to meet your team’s development needs, you should be able to find whatever you require, right here.
Core skills
This section of Prospectus Online houses training in all the core skills you need to work effectively as a public servant. That means everything from basic digital skills, customer service and time management through to effective communication, data interpretation and influencing skills.
Skills for government
The courses here explore the skills required to work in government and provide a comprehensive understanding of the history and structure of government and how it works with the rest of the public sector. Topics covered here include local government, judicial reviews, the legislative process and government finance.
Leading and managing
There’s an entire section of Prospectus Online dedicated to the skills needed to be an effective line manager and a leader who can help develop emerging talent. It covers everything from enabling high performance and providing feedback through to interviewing skills and leading during times of change.
Specialist skills from Government professions
This is where we house all our professions’ specialist training. With training often aligned to a professional body, this offers plenty of opportunities for assessment and accreditation. This provides reassurance that you have indeed developed the specialist capabilities that your role requires, in specialist areas ranging from law and commerciality through to data analysis and procurement.
Domain knowledge
Courses contained here help develop any domain-specific knowledge you may require. This could involve honing your understanding of a specific specialist area, such as health, education or transport, for example. Understanding the factors that have shaped that area will help you to become a highly competent team member, policy-maker or ministerial adviser.
Contained within the learning and development activities showcased on Prospectus Online is a cross Civil Service curriculum of around 150 courses. These are all contextualised to reflect the particular requirements of working in the Civil Service. They cover traditional subject areas such as policy-making, communication and personal effectiveness. This course line up is continually evolving to take into account more contemporary considerations such as remote leadership, cyber security and data analysis, for example.
There's also a substantial portfolio of off the shelf learning. This contains hundreds more ready-made courses, where no Civil Service contextualisation is required, as well as a vast array of technical accreditations and qualifications.
Complementing this catalogue of learning are two further offerings. The first is bespoke learning, offering departments, functions and professions the opportunity to design learning activities that meet their specific needs.
The second focuses on civil servants’ personal development by providing access to coaching services. It also offers access to a range of subject matter experts who can provide valuable insights and support in highly specialised areas.
What’s in it for me?
Being able to browse our entire prospectus should hopefully spark your interest in particular courses, encouraging you to take greater ownership of your own learning and development needs. You’ll be able to undertake training when it’s most convenient for you and to decide when you think you’ve done enough to justify moving on to another part of the curriculum. This instantly transforms training from a potential chore into a route to more interesting roles and possible promotions.
If you’re a manager, the prospectus should also serve as a constant reminder of your responsibilities for developing the people around you and your options for doing so. You’ll be able to direct colleagues with greater confidence to the resources that will benefit them the most.
How can I get started?
As you start to browse the prospectus, you can click on an individual course to find out more. You’ll find out what the activity involves, the subject matter it covers, the expected outcomes and how to make a booking.
The digital elements of these courses are bite-sized and accessible, allowing you to engage with them when, how and where you choose, conveniently slotting them around your work commitments. These activities include everything from videos and self-assessments through to quizzes and online tutorials.
These are often accompanied by a workshop; either face to face or virtual. These are social learning activities, rather than traditional classroom learning. The focus here is on discussing and practising, as a group, what you covered in the digital activities that preceded the workshop. This is an opportunity for you and your colleagues to support one another in your development, reflect on what you’ve learned and think about how best to use your new-found skills back in the workplace.
Want to learn more?
If you’re now ready to make a booking, simply click here to access the booking portal. If you haven’t used the portal previously, you can find plenty of help and guidance on the ‘how to book’ page.
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