Pick a Theme Chest

1
Pick a Theme Chest!
2
Who we are

• Charitable IT training organisation
• For disabled and disadvantaged adults
• Specialising in getting people back to work
• Or on the road to it
• Through learning or the social firm -
  Electroville
• Building confidence whilst learning new skills in
  a warm, welcoming environment conducive to
  learning
• Small learning groups with hands-on volunteers
• Flexible learning in a variety of courses /
  levels
• Various progression routes including work
  placements

3
Range of Courses

• Topical Tasters
• (Digital Photography, Family History)
• Introduction to IT
• New CLAiT
• Business Admin
• CLAiT Plus
• iTQ Technical
• Brush Up Your Maths
• Brush Up Your English

4
How it all works
5
Pick a Theme Chest

• 4 Theme Chests delivered in the last 18 months
• Engaging disabled adults
• To improve their self confidence, employment
  prospects, retrain to stay in employment, etc.
• Many on Incapacity Benefit
• Little previous guidance / support in returning
  to work and coming off benefits
• Suffering low self esteem
• Introducing then to ICT
• Prevalent in most working environments
• Used e-learning to some extent

6
Results Highlights

• Over 250 enrolled
• Over 150 gained some qualification
• Developed a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
• We tried to encourage further learning at home
• Difficulties in finding good - and SCORM
  compliant - content at a reasonable price
• No development time - Funders focused on outputs
  not e-learning
• Open Access sessions heavily used by students
• Volunteers did CG 7302 Introduction to Learning
  / Adult Learner Support Unit 1
• to assist within classes or Open Access
• BBC Workwise Internet materials for Skills for
  Life students
• Initial assessment identified areas needing work
  (e.g. fractions). Students could then practice
  specific skills before taking national test.
• Used e-portfolio system (MAPS) to send results to
  OCR