A City Council programme is giving unemployed Nottingham adults access to online learning to gain new skills during the pandemic.
The Community and Family Learning programme provides short courses and webinars to all residents of Nottingham City, aged 19 years old and over, and requires no previous knowledge or skill levels. Some of the learning available is free, to those residents in receipt of certain benefits.
Community and Family Learning aims to help anyone who wishes to increase their personal skills and develop their own learning, gain employability support or qualifications, or help their children learning from home.
There are many benefits to this online learning approach, including:
- Easier to fit around working and home life, with no commute or traffic
- Allows socialisation and connection with others more regularly, helping mental well-being
- Help with personal growth and confidence through learning new skills
- Informal and easy to understand courses and webinars, with patient tutors in a non-judgmental atmosphere.
There is a wide range of courses and webinars available which cover an equally wide range of topics. For those looking for more in-depth learning, some courses offer qualifications. All are provided through local partners: Enable, Right Track, The Life Education Centre, National Ice Arena Nottingham, the Nottingham Library Service and Second Chance Learning Academy.
Community Learning covers things like:
- English & Maths
- Employability Support (for finding work)
- Health & Well-being
Family Learning covers things like:
- Family Learning Courses (children & parents learning together)
- Keeping You & Your Family Safe Online
- Supporting a Home Learning Environment
- Money Management.
Portfolio Holder for Employment, Councillor Neghat Khan, said:
“This programme aims to support the parents, families and individuals across the community to gain more skills, learn new things and help parents support their children learning at home. Online learning like this is especially useful during the pandemic, which is causing difficulties for people seeking work, for parents or carers home-schooling and for those who are now unable to socialise in the usual way.
“The project enables unemployed, local people to gain or increase the skills and opportunities most needed by employers, who in-turn, will be in a better position to grow and build a strong post-Covid economy.”
The Community and Family Learning (C&FL) programme is part-funded by the Education Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), part of the Department of Education (DfE).
To find out more about what other learning opportunities on offer, and how to gain invaluable skills from home, or check benefits* eligibility criteria, contact us via email at: learn@nottinghamcity.gov.uk or call: 0115 876 4787 or 0115 876 3554.