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Ongoing support and development

The Council is responsible for ensuring the ongoing personal and professional development of all employees. Appraisals form an important part of this and new staff and line managers receive the necessary training before appraisals are undertaken.

The Council endeavours to ensure that any training needs or requests that arise as a result of appraisal are met. When new teams are formed they will have the opportunity to attend New Team Training days; these events provide a great opportunity to explore how people work together and relate to each other specifically in the context of the Church.

We hold an annual conference for our Presbytery and Parish Workers which allows colleagues to meet together, to network and to share knowledge and experiences. The conference also provides the opportunity to attend workshops on topics that are specifically requested by staff as being relevant to their ministries. This is in addition to various workshops or conferences that are arranged for all ministries on an ongoing basis and publicised widely.

Our Pastoral Care Team is available to our employees at any time; sometimes a listening ear is all that is needed while at other times practical help might be required and the team is there to assist or refer as necessary. Our staff have access to the Church’s Occupational Health Service and the First Assist counselling service. In addition, colleagues in HR are there to advise on employment legislation and to answer any queries about contractual matters.

Presbytery & Parish Workers are eligible to participate in the Ministries Council Study Leave scheme as part of their continuing professional development. Details of the scheme are made available to staff upon their appointment and Presbytery and Parish Workers are encouraged to make use of this scheme once they are eligible to do so.