Recruit your Mental Health First Aiders
Application process Invite employees to apply for the MHFA England training via an application form. You could follow this up with informal interviews and a reference check with their manager. When advertising the training you should outline: – What the Mental Health First Aider role entails – Who should apply – How it fits in with other strategies such as your employee training and development programme – The time commitment involved (see page 9 ) – The topics covered on the course On the application form, you can ask questions to determine why the person would like to become a Mental Health First Aider, what they feel they can bring to the role, and whether they have their manager’s approval to apply. If you choose to follow up on the applications with interviews, this is a good opportunity to assess the person’s suitability for the role and discuss in more detail what the role will entail. Example questions for the application process – Why do you think mental health in the workplace is important? – Why are you interested in becoming a Mental Health First Aider? – How do you see yourself using these new skills in your role?
– What would you do if you started to feel like the role was impacting on your own mental health?’ – What would success as a Mental Health First Aider look like to you?
Employer example: recruiting Siemens Mobility looks to train Mental Health First Aiders who may or may not have exposure to mental illness directly, but have the right skills and characteristics for the role. Employees who would like to gain more understanding of mental health are encouraged to take an awareness course first and proceed to Mental Health First Aider training if they wish to use their skills to help others. The training opportunity and responsibilities are advertised business-wide and volunteers apply for the position. Applicants are invited to answer a series of questions on why they would like to take the course and why they are suitable for the role. Once the applicant has passed the recruitment stage, their place on the course depends on a satisfactory behavioural reference from their manager.
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