Hello all,

You manager/HR types may already be aware that the Uk government, in partnership with all sorts of other parties (including HSE, Nottingham Uni, ISMA-UK, workingforwellbeing) have put together a set of standards for employers looking to implement a stress management policy and/or training within their organisation. The aim is to try to ensure a consistency of approach and some guarantee of quailty. Three PAS (Publicly Available Specifications) have been developed. PAS 1010 (Organisational Stress), PAS 1011 (HSE Management Standards & Management Competencies) and PAS 1012 (Resilience, Wellbeing & Returning to Work). Trainers wishing to opererate under these standards, will need to complete one or more of these courses, depending upon their speciality. Those who complete all three courses will be called Master Stress Practitioners! which i think is a bit like being a stress Jedi. Importantly for us jobbing freelancers, completion of one or more courses will mean inclusion on the exclusive Working for Wellbeing register of accredited stress trainers.

At this stage, you do not have to be an accredited trainer to provide stress management to employers (this may well change in the future). But my feeling is that once employers become aware of these standards, it will be accredited trainers that they’ll be looking to use. So what to do? These courses ain’t cheap. It’s £1200 per module, but at the moment the government are providing a grant of £400 per module. A substantial saving if you’re looking to do all three. I’ve decided to take the plunge and do all three modules. Partly because i’m hoping that inclusion on the register will generate more work, but also out of the fear that, if i’m not on the register, my work will dry up.

I start the first module (PAS 1010) IN March, and i will keep you informed of how it’s going. Incidentally, if you’re also doing this module in March in Manchester, please say hello.

Take it easy out there
Simon.