ASA Newsletter – January 2019

Happy New Year, and welcome to a new look for the Advice Skills Academy newsletter.  Shorter and more focused on all things Advice Skills Academy, the ASA ‘Update’ includes information on ASA learning opportunities such as Training, Action Learning, and Mentoring, as well as new bitesize learning for the month.

Advice Skills Academy Training

Mental Health Awareness for Frontline Workers

Developing Training Skills

Stay Focused, Stay Well – Skills and Strategies for Managing High Workloads in Advice Services

Mentoring

Advice Skills Academy Accredited Training

As part of our targets for Advice Skills Academy we are delivering accredited learning for ASA participants. Learners have been working hard to complete the assignments required for the accredited units, and they’ll be finishing soon and getting their certificates.

Some learners have already completed their unit qualifications:

Accredited Learning

So far we’ve delivered accredited units in:

  • Leading and motivating a team effectively;
  • Understanding Mentoring in the workplace;
  • Managing workplace projects; and
  • Providing Initial Legal Advice – an advice specific unit qualification accredited by Skills for Justice Awards

 
In order to do the accredited learning, people need to be signed up to the Advice Skills Academy project, and need to have the approval of their CEO to do the accredited learning.

For more information email us at contact@adviceskillsacademy.org.uk

Bitesize Learning

The 5 types of mentors you need in your life

We all need a mentor (or 5) to help us grow, develop and express our inner calling.  This article from TED, covers the 5 types of mentor we all need including the master of their craft, the co-pilot, and the champion.

With a link to the TEDx talk from Tony Tjan on ‘Why leadership and mentorship does not need to fail us’, the article can help us all think a little bit differently about mentoring.

Read More

Optimism

“If you want happiness for an hour — take a nap.’ If you want happiness for a day — go fishing. If you want happiness for a year — inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime — help someone else.”

Chinese Proverb
For the start of a new year, we’re focusing on another of the 7 essential soft skills – this time it’s optimism. Optimism is less about positive thinking than it is about positive action. Increasing your level of optimism can help to increase your resilience, and proactivity. For a range of factsheets around being more optimistic, including an Optimism Health Checker, TED Talks, and a complete TED playlist ‘Charming talks for a boost on a bad day’ visit the Unimenta website.
Digital Champions Network

We’ve joined the Digital Champions Network – which provides online learning and other resources to help and encourage people to become Digital Champions.

So far we’ve got 20 Digital Champions signed up, and between them they’ve completed 136 short online courses including things like:

  • Digital Champions Essentials
  • Using your role to help get people online
  • Using government services online
  • Helping someone with an accessibility need: working with people with learning difficulties and/or learning disabilities

If you’re interested in joining the ASA Digital Champions project then email us at contact@adviceskillsacademy.org.uk