Training needs

Granted the central importance of staff training in the PIE concept, it is perhaps slightly surprising that for PIEs there is no 'core curriculum' that we recommend.  But granted the wide range of client groups and settings where the idea has been taken up, it is hard to see how one could even be suggested, let alone imposed, as an expectation.

This is on the whole a good thing, as it allows and encourages the staff in any one service or agency to decide for themselves what is relevant; and that in turn means a far faster take-up of new ideas and insights than could be possible with a centralised curriculum, required for all.

In the homelessness sector generally, which is where the PIEs concept first took root,  there is no tradition, and certainly no expectation, of CPD - continuous professional development - which is otherwise almost a hallmark or professionalism in other fields.