A SCHEME that is widening adult participation in learning across Worcestershire has been put forward for a number of awards.
The Learning Ambassadors Project, which aims to bring adults back into learning, has been nominated for two upcoming awards ceremonies - Herefordshire and Worces-tershire Learning and Skills Council's Celebrating Lear-ning Achievement Awards and the NIACE Adult Learner Awards.
Recently it reached the final of the Regeneration West Midlands Awards.
Vander Browning from Kidderminster, a learner helped by the project, has been announced as a finalist in the Celebrating Learning Achievement Awards in the Community-Based Adult Learner category.
Funded by the European Social Fund (through the local LSC and delivered by the Worcestershire Learning and Skills Partnership, the project has a network of learning ambassadors based at community centres across the county, including the Fairfield Neighbourhood Learning Centre in Worcester, the Multi-Agency Resource Centre in Broms-grove, the Oldington and Foley Park Community Network in Kidderminster, the REDI Centre in Redditch and the YMCA in Worcester.
It focuses on learners aged 20 - 65, with either low skill levels or no formal qualifications, living in these areas.
Each centre has a team of learning ambassadors who are working with a total of 1300 learners across the county and supporting 650 of these onto accredited courses and 450 onto non-accredited courses.
The learning ambassadors are recruited from the local community and have all had recent experience of adult learning. Learning ambassadors also regularly share best practice across Worces-tershire.
The courses available at the learning centres are based on learner needs and a learner plan is developed outlining their aims and objectives. The teaching is delivered by specialist community tutors at each of the learning centres.
Gillian Barrie, widening participation contract manager at the local LSC, said: "We are delighted not only by the success of the project to date but the recognition it is receiving across Worcester-shire and the West Midlands as a whole.
"This is a three-year project, which will run until February 2008, and is unique in that it puts the individual in control of their learning from beginning to end, while receiving support from a learning ambassador."
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