Cromer Learning for Life Celebrates Success

Cromer's Learning for Life Project, which was launched last year to help local people boost their personal development, skills training and employment prospects, has double cause for celebration.

In less than half the expected time, the two-year project has exceeded its target of providing or facilitating training for 334 people, and funding has recently been secured to introduce a new initiative, the 'Cromer Virtual Learning Community', which will lend laptop computers to eligible residents so they can carry on their studies at home.

To mark the early and continuing success of Cromer Learning for Life, and to launch the new Virtual Learning Community, all local people who have accessed training through the project have been invited to a special celebration event in the Pavilion Theatre on Cromer Pier, at 10.30am on Tuesday, 13 May.

Funded mainly by the European Social Fund, the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), and North Norfolk District Council (NNDC), the £240,000 Cromer Learning for Life project was officially launched last June, with the opening of the new learning shop at 10 Bond Street, Cromer. The project was set up to deliver a co-ordinated programme of courses across a range of personal and career development subjects for people who live or work in the Cromer Town and Suffield Park wards.

"Our research showed that there was a real lack of easily accessible further education for adults in the area, and we were confident that, if we offered the right advice and guidance and arranged relevant training courses, we would meet our target at the end of the two years," said Project Manager, John Morgan. "However, as soon as we opened the shop in Bond Street, we were inundated with hundreds of enquiries, and within just nine months we have met the target of helping 334 people. In fact, we now have nearly 500 people on our books - and enquiries are still coming in."

The project is led by NNDC, and other partners are Women's Employment Enterprise and Training Unit, Paston College, Norfolk Adult Education Services, Prince's Trust Volunteers, Redundancy Advice Network, Jobcentreplus, Norfolk and Waveney Enterprise Services and Norfolk Learning and Skills Council.

The project's programme has evolved over the months, and currently it is offering advice and guidance on the local training opportunities available, as well as directly providing a range of courses from IT and interior design to confidence building, basic life skills and food hygiene. It also funds individuals on personal development courses, supports young people on the Prince's Trust Scheme, provides advice on business start-up, and helps people with job-search support.

"The need for the new Virtual Learning Community initiative, which will loan out laptops, was really identified by our Learning for Life beneficiaries, who found they could not take advantage of many of the training opportunities, simply because they had no access to a computer," added John Morgan. "In addition, we don't have the equipment to put on enough IT classes to meet the very great interest in the subject. All this is soon about to change."

Funded by the European Social Fund, EEDA and NNDC, the Cromer Virtual Learning Community will mean that many people will be able to borrow laptops for up to three months and work on individual training plans at home. Some of the new laptops will also help tutors offer customised group courses that can be set up anywhere in the community. A new member of staff will shortly be appointed to maintain the laptops and offer advice during the project's 30-months lifespan.

For more information about Cromer Learning for Life and/or Cromer Virtual Learning Community, please contact John Morgan or Denise Tressman on (01263) 519454, or call at the Learning Shop, 10 Bond Street, Cromer (open from 10am to 3pm on Mondays and Wednesdays, and from 10am to 1pm on Thursdays). Alternatively, visit www.northnorfolk.org/cromerlearning/

ENDS