ABSTRACT
Staff training is probably one of the most neglected areas of practice management. Staffs are the greatest asset a practice has and investment in training is one of the most rewarding aspects of practice management. Absolute measurement of performance is difficult to achieve with the type of work that is carried out in dental practice. The National Council for Vocational Qualifications was established in 1987 to look into ways of structuring vocation-based study programmes to meet the demands of industry of the day. There are limited courses available for staff training which focus on the needs of the modern dental practice. The acquisition of high level and more advanced skills is known as upskilling. This would be typical in a situation where a junior dental assistant was gradually upskilling towards a more senior status or towards a recognized qualification. Multi-skilling refers to the acquisition of broad and varied skills without the restrictions of any single framework.
