CILIP, the library and information association, is delighted to announce that the Health Education England Knowledge for Healthcare Learning Academy has been awarded accreditation under its Short Course Accreditation scheme.

CILIP Short Course Accreditation helps both Learning and Development providers and learners themselves by offering the same quality guarantee that full CILIP Accreditation offers to degree-level courses. Employers and individuals can book quality training to enhance skills with confidence.

The Knowledge for Healthcare Learning Academy offers a range of bespoke learning opportunities tailored to the needs of the specialist healthcare knowledge and library workforce in England. Informed by Health Education England’s strategy and a regular development needs analysis, the programme is commissioned and delivered in partnership with skilled and experienced facilitators.

Helen Berry, CILIP’s Workforce Development Manager explained “We know that CILIP accreditation stands for quality. By choosing a CILP accredited course, learners can feel confident that the content is high quality and has been tested against the professional standard by an independent assessor. The CILIP accreditation certifies quality learning and delivery as well as relevance to the employment market.

Our Short Course Accreditation offers the same quality guarantee to shorter courses which don’t lead to a formal qualification. This includes modular courses, day courses and online courses within the Library, Knowledge or Information field.”

Independent assessor, Dr Carolynn Rankin, commented that “The Knowledge for Healthcare Learning Academy short courses offer participants a high-quality experience delivered by experts in the subject content and by experts in methodology.”

Patrick Mitchell, Director of Innovation, Digital and Transformation at Health Education England said “Health Education England is ambitious for our new Learning Academy; it is a great basis for further developing the NHS knowledge specialist workforce. We look forward to continuing to work with CILIP and other partners in the future”.

Sue Lacey Bryant, National Lead for NHS Knowledge and Library Services in England, said “I am delighted to see the launch of our CILIP-accredited Knowledge for Healthcare Learning Academy. This is a crucial building block in strengthening the capability of health knowledge specialists to lead and deliver knowledge services in the digital age. We see skills in mobilising and using research evidence and lessons learned from experience to improve patient care are also of increasing relevance to the wider healthcare workforce.”

About CILIP Short Course Accreditation

CILIP Short course accreditation was launched in 2020.

Accredited Short Courses are recommend for L&D professionals booking training for their organisations and independent learners looking to enhance their skills. There is a full list of short courses which we accredit on the website.

All CILIP Accredited Short Courses are independently assessed every three years to ensure they meet the following criteria:

• Relevance of the course to the professional standard (CILIP’s Professional Knowledge and Skills Base)
• the learning provider is providing a high-quality learning experience
• the learning provider engages with employers to ensure that programmes are relevant
• Staff and trainers are up to date with current professional practice
• Learners are encouraged to engage with their professional body CILIP

Knowledge for Healthcare Learning Academy

Offers a range of learning opportunities to the specialist healthcare knowledge and library workforce in England.

Health Education England is part of the NHS. Their role is to work with partners to plan, recruit, educate and train the health workforce.

Health Education England is the strategic lead for NHS knowledge and library services in England.