Hundreds of borough residents will benefit from new training courses and employment opportunities after two Hammersmith & Fulham projects secured over £1 million from a London-wide skills fund.
Unemployed people and working women will have the chance to gain confidence-boosting new skills, and study towards employment-friendly NVQs, after the ‘Open House’ and ‘Skills Connect’ projects made successful bids worth £1.016 million to the Learning & Skills Council’s Pan-London programme.
Open House, which won £517,000, will enable 450 unemployed residents to gain qualifications in work-related areas such as numeracy, literacy, retail and IT. The project will be run jointly by the Masbro Centre, Masbro Road, W14; Gateway Technology Centre, Godolphin Road, W12; and Hammersmith & Fulham council’s Adult Education team.
Skills Connect, which received £499,800, will allow 150 working women across London to gain qualifications in management, customer care, childcare and health and social care, as well as enabling 100 unemployed women to gain work experience, basic skills training and support as they look for a job. Unlike Open House, the project will be open to clients across London. It will be run by Regenasis, Hammersmith & Fulham council’s regeneration agency, through its special equality and diversity team.
Both projects will last two years, from August 2006 to July 2008, and will be managed and overseen by Regenasis.
Andy Sharpe, manager of the Masbro Centre and director of Blythe Neighbourhood Council, says: “Here at the Masbro Centre we’re delighted to have secured this grant for the Open House project, which will allow us to build on our work of providing local people with key skills and employment-friendly NVQ qualifications. It’s especially satisfying to have received this money from a London-wide funding scheme, and to have done so in partnership with the council and a local voluntary organisation, Gateway Technology Centre, as this shows how effectively the borough is working together. I’m confident that our combined efforts will enable many more unemployed people to develop their skills and confidence so that they can progress into employment or further education.”
Cllr Frances Stainton, Hammersmith & Fulham council’s cabinet member for regeneration, says: “I would like to congratulate the organisations involved in Open House and Skills Connect for winning this funding, which will undoubtedly boost the skills, confidence and opportunities of hundreds of local residents. Here at Hammersmith & Fulham council we firmly believe that people should be given the support they need to fulfil their economic potential, and it is gratifying when those aims are recognised on a London-wide level. I urge residents to take advantage of these new schemes.”
Unemployed people wishing to find out more about Open House should contact the Masbro Centre on 020 7605 0800.
Employed or unemployed women wishing to find out more about Skills Connect should contact Regenasis on 020 8753 4810.