Caregivers Alberta Customer Success
Caregivers Alberta is an organization that strives to empower caregivers and promote their well-being by providing resources, mental health support, and education for Albertans caring for family members or friends.
Caregivers Alberta worked with the SkillBuilder team to create an online version not only of their in-person COMPASS for the Caregiver program, which was designed to provide caregivers with the skills and knowledge needed for a sustainable caregiver journey, but also their Facilitating COMPASS for the Caregiver course, which provided the tools learners needed to not only become a competent facilitator, but also to deliver the COMPASS content in a manner that meets the learner where they can best absorb the information being presented.
The Challenge
Acting as a caregiver is a huge undertaking, yet the majority of the nearly one million Albertans who are providing unpaid care for people in need do not identify themselves as caregivers, and therefore do not seek the help and support they need to sustain the care they provide.
Caregivers Alberta required a course that wouldn’t overwhelm the people most in need of it – this course needed to be dynamic and engaging, warm, and flexible enough that it could be completed at the preferred pace of the learner. They wanted an online, asynchronous course that could reach a broader audience, while simultaneously creating a welcoming environment, which encouraged participants to share their personal stories and interact as a community.
The Solution
To build the COMPASS for the Caregiver course, SkillBuilder Instructional Designers conducted a series of interviews with real-life caregivers to better understand their challenges and the realities of caregiving, then used these discussions, in addition to the existing course material, to inform how the course would be built. The result was a series of modules designed to be completed in any order, depending on the learner’s greatest need. Interactions were designed to engage the learner and convey important information without being overwhelming, complex concepts were reimagined as easy to digest infographics and first-person testimonials were incorporated throughout in order to build a sense of community. In addition, online discussion forums were developed to give participants a safe place to connect with people on the same caregiving journey.
Fairly quickly into the development process for the COMPASS course, Caregivers Alberta expanded their ask to bring the same fundamentals of interactivity and inclusion to an online, asynchronous version of their Facilitators course. This course, in addition to reviewing key points of COMPASS, provided participants with both the knowledge needed to facilitate exercises both in-person and online, as well as a safe space to practice and develop these skills.
The Results
Feedback from participants in both courses has been extremely positive, and creating online versions of these courses has allowed caregivers the flexibility to access this important information when and where is most convenient for them.
Caregivers Alberta has subsequently chosen to work with the SkillBuilder Team again to develop their Work & Care program; a series of presentations that include PowerPoint decks, Facilitator Guides and Participant Manuals that facilitators can use to educate organizations on the importance of supporting caregivers in the workplace.
Here at SkillBuilder, we are honoured to work with Caregivers Alberta, and aid in their mission to empower caregivers and support their well-beings. To learn more about Caregivers Alberta and the valuable work they do, please visit their website.