Last month we celebrated the achievements of all our brilliant West Sussex learners. We welcomed people who had completed our Learning for Work and Learning for Life courses over the past year to St Matthew’s Church Hall in Worthing.
Over lunch and a glass of bubbly, our graduates heard from Head of Active Lives, James Hughes, and Grace Eyre Chief Executive, Eva Eriksson. They then stepped up to receive their certificates from Lynne Smith, Programme Officer (Community Learning Grant Development) for West Sussex County Council, to the cheers of friends and family.
Designed for people with a learning disability and/or autistic people, our Learning for Work and Learning for Life skills help attendees build confidence and discover their particular interests, prepare for work and learn a wide range of skills useful throughout everyday life.
Following their courses, several of our graduates have gone on to take up volunteer positions to gain further experience as the next step towards paid work. These includes placements at John Lewis, a nursery, Worthing Hospital gardens and in the café and charity shop of Worthing Soup Kitchen. One graduate shared at the event that she had recently got a paid role at Nando’s.
- 100% of learners on both Learning for Work and Learning for Life increased their understanding of personal goals
- 88% of learners on Learning for Life felt they now had the right skills for everyday tasks
- 77% of learners on Learning for Work felt feel confident about being able to communicate why their skills and character suit a job role or career after their course, with 100% feeling more confident about being able to respond appropriately to interview questions
Our Ambassadors also attended the Celebration of Learning event to gather feedback on the courses from those who had attended. The comments, feedback and advice they gathered from course graduates included:
- “Make sure you learn well and be patient with yourself”
- “Learn about the structure of the course and shake people’s hands. Learn the route to the course. Don’t be afraid to ask for help”
- “Enjoy it. You can do anything you put your mind to”
Thank you to the West Sussex Adult Education team for funding the courses and to the following partners and colleagues who supported us in their delivery.
- The Rowans Day Centre
- 39 Club in Bognor
- The Charis Centre
- The Orchards
- Pathways Healthcare
- Butterfly Project
- Voyage Care
- Grace Eyre Ambassadors
- Benjamin Willis, Project Coordinator
- Lou Partidge-Kirk & Amelia Lenton, Tutors
If you are interested in one of our employment and skills courses, please complete our form so we can let you know when we are running more.