 Learning
for life
The annual Adult Learners’ Week
Awards
recognise the achievements of groups and
individuals who have changed their lives
as a result of returning to learning.
Every year the National Institute
of Adult Continuing Education
(NIACE), co-ordinators of Adult
Learner’s Week, offer awards for
outstanding learning achievement.
For the past 10 years ESF has
provided funding to support
Adult Learner’s Week through
a range of activities, including
the sponsorship of awards.
This year ESF awards have been
made to eight regional individual
winners, one national group
winner, one national Learning
Works Award winner and one
national New Learning
Opportunities Awards winner.
The winners receive a cheque to
help them further their learning
and all entrants receive a
certificate of nomination.
Individual regional award
The eight ESF-sponsored regional
award winners are:
- East Midlands: Gillian Prest
- Eastern: Shirley Smythe
- North East: Hafiz M.S. Naeem
- North West:
Sarah Ann Blackman
- South East: Benjamin Fullick
- South West: Lucinda Vince
- West Midlands: Donna Stanway
- Yorkshire: Nasim Khan
Group award
The award, along with a £500
learning voucher, was presented to
Promoting Adult Learning (PALS)
Learning Champions, Learning
Links, Portsmouth. To date, 60
volunteers have undertaken a
10-week training course in order
to promote adult learning and
recruit more learning champions.
Learning Works Award
Janice Herbert-Green, the winner
of the Learning Works Award,
received a £250 learning voucher.
Janice joined the ‘Access to
Nursing and Health Careers’ course at Harrow College and
has since started the Thames
Valley University’s Diploma
course in nursing.
New Learning Opportunities Award
A £500 learning voucher
went to the winner of the New
Learning Opportunities Award– Computability, an information
technology, basic skills and
multimedia project. The scheme
provides disabled individuals
with IT equipment for use in
their own home.
For some of the winners, returning
to learning has been a daunting,
but valuable, experience, whereas
for others it has been an opportunity
to achieve a lifelong ambition.
But whatever the reasons, those
individuals and groups must be
congratulated for taking the step,
or for some a leap, to return to
learning – benefiting their lives
and the lives of others.
Want to know more?
Contact the NIACE Campaigns Team
on 0116 204 4200
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South East Individual Award Winner
Benjamin
Fullick, Littlehampton, Sussex; Age:
22
 Benjamin is passionate
about
windsurfing and it has always
been a dream of his to turn
his passion into a career,
but because of his hearing
impairment he thought he
never stood a chance. But that
was before he took part in a
professional instructor training
course, part-funded by ESF
and organised by the United
Kingdom Sailing Academy
(UKSA).
Benjamin passed the
14-week
course with flying colours and
is now fully qualified to teach
people watersports, including
dinghy sailing, windsurfing and
kayaking.
“With Ben’s
patience and hard work, he has overcome the
obstacles in his way,” said Ben’s
nominator Frank Fletcher, of
the UKSA.
 “He has set a
very high standard for people to follow.”
Benjamin said,“
I’m thrilled to
win this award.
I want to thank
ESF and UKSA
who have
helped me
fulfil my dream
of becoming
a professional
watersports
instructor. The
training has changed my
life in so many ways and
opened so many doors that
before I did not think
possible.”
And all Benjamin’s
hard work seems to have paid off. The
UKSA were so impressed by
him that they offered him a
full-time job at the Academy.
Photographs: www.patrick.eden.co.uk
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New Learning Opportunities Award Winner
Computability – IT,
Basic Skills and Multimedia Project (Yorkshire)
The Computability scheme,
which is part-funded by
ESF, provides computers and specialised equipment
for
disabled individuals to use them in their own
home– giving them access to training
and technology to
improve their employment prospects.
Training opportunities
range from the delivery of basic
computer, internet and email usage to the achievement
of nationally-recognised qualifications – such
as
Computer Literacy and Information Technology
(CLAIT)
and European Computer Driving License (ECDL)– which
support progression onto further learning,
voluntary work placement or paid employment.
For those beneficiaries
who work within the UK Online
and Multimedia Centre, travel expenses are
covered– to encourage those experiencing financial difficulties.
At the end of their initial six-month training – which
can be renewed or extended if necessary – beneficiaries
are given the option of purchasing the equipment
to
enable them to continue learning at home/work.
For the last two years the scheme has been
run by
Cherry Tree Advice Centre, an advice, information
and
training organisation, providing a variety
of services to
the people of the East Riding of Yorkshire,
and last year
around 58 beneficiaries took part in the
scheme.
Left: (From left to
right) Catherine Osborne (ESFD), Stuart Rollisson
(beneficiary), Jim O’Kane (ESFD), Councillor
Simon Pickering (General
Manager of Cherry Tree Advice Centre), Hugh O’Daly
(ESFD)
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From September 2003, NIACE will
be inviting applications for the Adult
Learners’ Week 2004 awards, which will
include special awards for ESF-funded
courses – and the people on them.
If you know of someone or a group of
people who have made a difference to
their lives through learning, you can
nominate them for an Adult Learners’ Week
Individual or Group Award. Or, if you co-ordinate
an innovative project that opens up the way
to learning
for new and different adults, NIACE
welcomes your entry to the New
Learning Opportunities Awards.
Nomination forms are available
to download from the website:
www.niace.org.uk/alw. Alternatively
you can contact the NIACE Campaigns
team on 0116 204 4200, or send an
email to alw@niace.org.uk |
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ESF Newsletter
