01-06-2008
Wakefield ACES Good News Bulletin June/July 2008
Teen Parents' Cookery Course
Well done to all the "Teen Parents" who recently attended the Healthy Eating course held at Kendal Drive Children's Centre.
This 6 week programme was organised by the Eastmoor Community Project and delivered by the Wakefield Adult Education Service the course successfully attracted both teen mums and dads.
The programme delivered by Geraldine Wriglesworth (Adult & Community Education Service) working together with Carrie Fennel (Primary Care Trust) covered a wide range of topics around healthy eating with an opportunity for all learners to develop their knowledge of the importance of a healthy balanced diet and improve their practical cookery skills by preparing and cooking a healthy meal each week.
Teen Parents' Cookery Course
Congratulations as the First Learners Achieve the ECDL Advanced Expert qualification
Claire Cousins and Rachael Lodge are the first 2 learners to complete their ECDL Advanced Expert qualification in one academic year, with Wakefield Adult Education Service. This qualification entails achieving four ECDL Advanced modules including Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Database and Presentation.
Claire works as an ICT Manager in a primary school and Rachael works as an Administrator in Accounting. Claire and Rachael have worked extremely hard and shown great enthusiasm for using ICT since joining the classes in September 2007 and completing in July 2008. Congratulations to them!
Lindsay Huculak
Congratulations to Lindsay on gaining employment at the Snapethorpe Hall Nursing Home.
Lindsay Huculak came along to the Access to Employment project in January 2008. As a lone parent living on the Lupset estate, Lindsay was keen to make a better life for herself and her young daughter Lialla. Lindsay had worked with the elderly in a care home for a short time after leaving school but had given up her job to become a full time mum. With support from the project Lindsay was able to attend the 4 day "Wakefield Council Care Induction" course held at Chesney's and complete a first aid course at St Georges. Lindsay regularly attended the weekly Access to Employment employability skills workshops to help build confidence and access the job search resources. Also wishing to improve her literacy skills Lindsay attended Skills for Life sessions held at St Georges Community Centre.
During an Access to Employment session in May Lindsay completed an application form for the position of care assistant at the Snapethorpe Hall Nursing home. Lindsay along with her work advisor Geraldine took the application form to the care home and introduced herself. Two days later Lindsay was invited along for an interview and was offered the job.
Lindsay's comments:
"I think it is really important that there are sessions like the ones I attended at St Georges Community Centre for local people to go along to. We need courses like this in the local community."
"If the sessions were in town or at the job centres people wouldn't go, but here it was friendly and I felt It gave me the opportunity to build my confidence, make new friends and receive one to one support with job search activities. My advisor came along with me to the job centre to look at the how my benefits would be affected and to help calculate how my new income would work."
"The care home are going to support me with future training. Starting with my NVQL2 qualification in Health & Social care. Eventually, when my daughter is older I would like to work in a hospital, but for now I am just getting back into the routine of work and looking forward to having a regular wage."
Lindsay Huculak
Neighbourhood Employment Team
The Neighbourhood Employment Team has proved a success yet again with a learner attending Kinsley and Fitzwilliam Community Centre.
Tracy Hough explains "The Neighbourhood Employment Team helped me to feel confident to apply for work in a care home. They helped me see that caring for my dad for sixteen years at home had given me the skills that I could take into employment. They helped me do a CV, fill in an application form, prepare for interview and even took me to the interview. This was my first ever job interview and I couldn't believe it when I was offered the job! Now I have started work in a BUPA care home and I will be able to do an NVQ in care whilst I work. I am really pleased I took that first step to talk to one of their advisors."
The Access to Employment project supports lone parents on income support and people on incapacity benefit or severe disability allowance and covers the following areas: Kinsley & Fitzwilliam, Castleford and Ferry Fryston, Agbrigg, Lupset, South Elmsall and Hemsworth. For more information please call 01977 723943 or text 07884 302704 and a member of the team will call you back.
The Access to Employment project is funded by European Regional Development Fund and Yorkshire Forward.