Barnet College helps local community recover from recession

Barnet College have launched a special campaign to help the unemployed and those recently redundant in the Barnet community get back into work.

The innovative campaign - called Forward4Work -  is one of the first comprehensive skills training initiatives to be launched in the borough. As one of the largest Further Education colleges in the country, Barnet College has drawn on its expertise to ensure that these tailor-made intensive short courses serve those in the local community who have been affected by the recession.

The overall aim is to get people back to work, by helping them re-train or re-skill for a job in a different sector and to aid progression into sustainable employment. The campaign targets people in the borough, those who are six to 12 months unemployed, registered with Jobcentre Plus and people who have been made redundant in the last six months months, including individuals in notice of redundancy.

Raquel Zepeda was made redundant in April from her job of two years in shipping:

"I decided that I needed to update my skills so I had something new to offer potential employers. Since losing my job, I had been applying to jobs but I seemed to be getting nowhere, I wasn't even getting a response back. I would like to thank all the tutors and job coaches at Barnet College who have helped and guided me throughout the course. It's easy to feel downhearted when you are out of work, coming on the Forward 4 Work course has given me much more confidence and I generally feel so much more positive about the future. I'm delighted to say I now have two job offers and I don't think I would have had these if I hadn't have been on the Forward 4 Work course."

The College is working closely with Jobcentre Plus and other local partnerships within the Borough of Barnet.

The courses - which are free for those that meet the eligibility criteria - will run from two to eight weeks, on a part time basis three days a week. They are designed to offer training in various specialised sectors such as Business, the Creative Industries, Health & Care, Hospitality, IT, Security, Training & Assessing. Within these courses learners will have the opportunity of studying modules on financial management, business customer service, Outlook & Windows 2007, Food preparation, safety and hygiene, caring for adults.

There will also be separate weekly sessions for job coaching, offering learners invaluable advice on CV writing, interview skills and a career skills assessment.

The wider initiative has been shaped by the London Joint Action Plan (JAP) and the Mayor of London's Economic Recovery Action Plan (ERAP) which has identified over 50 actions to help London through the economic downturn. In particular helping Londoners to improve their skills and enter, or re-enter employment.

This project has been funded by the Learning & Skills Council London Region as part of its regional European Social Fund programme.

For further information and course outlines, please call Course Information on 0208 266 4000 or visit www.barnet.ac.uk or email: forward4work@barnet.ac.uk.

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