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Bringing the Skills agenda home to Tottenham.
24th August 2007
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David Lammy, Skills Minister at the new Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, paid a visit to Selby Learning Zone – a project from Tottenham education charity ‘I Can Do It’. ‘I Can Do It’ runs the Selby Learning Zone, which houses both a Learndirect and UK online centre.
The Minister and MP for Tottenham, chatted with learners at the centre and heard how using computers and getting onto the internet had helped people get into learning and improve their lives. He also met with Director of ‘I Can Do It’, Raj Doshi, plus senior representatives from Ufi - the organisation behind Learndirect and UK online centers - including Strategic Development Director, David Sanderson, and Managing Director of UK online centers, Helen Milner.
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UK online centers help people get to grips with computers and take their first steps onto the internet, and Learndirect centers help them move on to courses and qualifications in anything from IT (information technology) to maths and English. With both under one roof at Selby Learning Zone, local people are getting the best chance to make the most out of technology.
David Lammy said:
“It’s great to come here with both my political hats on – as MP for Tottenham and Skills Minister – and to see how this excellent facility is reaching out to the most excluded, and benefiting such a broad cross-section of the community.
“I am very impressed by the level of education being offered here, and particularly the big increase in groups who are too often written off as ‘hard to reach’. Skills like those offered at the Selby Learning Zone are not only vital for so many jobs in the modern working environment; they are also such an important way to increase community involvement. Those who feel empowered have the power to help and encourage others.”
“It was a real pleasure to meet staff and learners at the Selby Learning Zone, and it shows what you can achieve with training in new skills. I met people who had never even touched a computer before they went in, and who are now doing job searching, sharing pictures with family and friends, researching hobbies, filling in online forms or even taking computer qualifications like the European Computer Driving License.
“Technology really can open up new doors and new worlds, and Selby Learning Zone is helping people get the skills they need to use it. I’m an IT enthusiast myself, and for me the internet and email are vital communications tools, helping me keep in touch with my constituents and vice versa. Whether you just want to learn how to send me an email at the UK online centre, or get a Level 2 Literacy qualification in the Learndirect centre, Selby Learning Zone is a great place to start, and a great resource for the Tottenham community.”
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David spoke with a number of people taking advantage of the Center’s online learning and job search opportunities, including Tottenham residents Dympna, Jason and Gohar, all of whom told David their CVs were benefiting from the additional IT and administrative skills they had learnt, and their opportunities to find a job enhanced by the online employment forums provided by the Selby Centre.
Another student from Tottenham, Chiona, said she hoped to put her new skills to use working for Haringey Council. |
Selby Learning Zone has built strong relationships with local employers and this is reflected by the number of learners passing their first NVQ at level two – over 80 in the academic year 2006/07.
For Ufi, it was a chance to meet the Minister in charge of the new Department which now leads on skills issues. Strategic Development Director David Sanderson explained: “We were delighted the Minister could come along and see for himself what happens in a Learndirect and a UK online centre. IT skills are fast becoming a necessity rather than a luxury – it’s now a third ‘basic skill’ after maths and English. The nation-wide network of Learndirect and UK online centers has already helped millions of people gain new skills, and the Minister met some of them today.” |
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Helen Milner, Managing Director of UK online centers added: “The problem is that it’s often those with most to gain from technology who have the least access to it. People can be excluded from the digital revolution for numerous reasons – by age, income, disability, education or attitude. We’ve got to bridge the ‘digital divide’ between the have-nets and the have-nots so everyone gets the chance to keep learning, and keep up with the times.”
Director Raj Doshi had the final word. He said: “It was a great privilege for Selby Learning Zone to host David Lammy’s first ministerial visit to a Learndirect or UK online centre. We were able not only to show him what we have to offer people in this area, but to showcase what centers like this do for people around the country who are on the wrong side of the digital divide, or lack the skills, confidence or qualifications to achieve their personal or professional goals.”
David added:
‘It was especially good to see that the Centre as it gears its services towards the practical realities of people’s lives here in Tottenham – not just the Skills For Life, Train 2 Gain and TEFL courses, but the tailored advice on how to polish a CV and what to bring to an interview – the things that can really make the difference in the eyes of potential employers.
‘I was also very encouraged by the flexibility that the centre offered: the child care facilities and evening classes which run after work are tailored for the real lives of the Center’s users.’
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