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Re-skilling
 

Skills for Self Reliance

The free training that we are setting up for unemployed youth (18-25) in Bridport, which is supported by Bridport Local Area Skills Training, Bridport Youth Action Trust, West Dorset District Council and Kingston Mauward College now has the funding, the premises (in Bridport), the tools, and the instructors.

Our trainees are classified as vulnerable young adults and we are legally required to have Mentors, that is responsible adults who can listen to and talk to the trainees during the course and generally help in the management of the class.

There will be full support from the instructors, each of whom have had Vulnerability Awareness Training. Is there is anyone out there who would like to volunteer one or two days a month to support this much needed course? I can be contacted by e-mail via admin@transitiontownbridport.co.uk or on 01308 427 565.

The course is over 5 days and we are training in the use of hand and power tools in woodwork, metal work together with the elements of plumbing and electrical work. The aim is to increase the trainees' self esteem and confidence, to increase their DIY skills, and to increase their chances of employment and to stimulate them into applying for higher level courses.
 

Ian Gallon - April 2012

Transition Town Bridport (TTB) in conjunction with Bridport Local Area Skills Training (BLAST) will be running courses for unemployed 18-24 year olds to teach them basic practical skills. The scheme is supported by BLAST’s Skills for Self Reliance program. More than 50 per cent of the workforce in Bridport have no qualification beyond NVQ level 2 and earnings in this age group are 45 per cent below the national average. Local registered unemployment figure for this group at the end of 2011 was 70.

Objectives 

  1. To increase self esteem
  2. Improve DIY capability
  3. To stimulate an interest in skilled work
  4. To increase employability in local business
  5. To generate confidence to apply for further training
  6. To increase an understanding of energy and the need for reduced use.
  7. Increase awareness of the possibility of recycling materials 

There will be a series of short courses on Workshop Practice covering the use of hand tools for working with wood and metal, and the elements of joinery, plumbing and electrical wiring. Some sessions will cover solar water heating and PV solar panels. The initial course, starting in a few weeks, has been designed for five days duration, possibly spread over two weeks. There will be places for 6 applicants on each course, which will be free of charge.

Ian Gallon 1 March 2012

Tool Donations

We would like to thank you all for the generous gifts of hand tools in support of the Skills for Self Reliance training course. The gifts came from Dorchester, Weymouth, Crewkerne and Axminster as well as Bridport, Bradpole and Burton Bradstock in such numbers that we have over half the tool requirement together with a surplus that will be sold to raise funds.

Thanks also to the Bridport electrical engineering company, Topsparks, who volunteered to test all the electrical hand tools for free. We are also pleased to have acquired furniture from DCC for conversion into workbenches, together with steel cabinets for tool storage.

The start of the course has unfortunately been delayed due to problems, among others, with finding suitable premises. We are in process of resolving these problems and we will report on our progress in due course.

Ian Gallon , Transition Town Bridport 6 February 2012

 

About the Skills for self Reliance group

Transition Town Bridport in conjunction with Bridport Local Area Skills Training (BLAST) is planning, under their Skills for Self Reliance program, a series of short courses on Workshop Practice. They will begin in the New Year and will cover the use of hand tools for working with wood and metal. The course will also cover the elements of joinery, plumbing and electrical wiring.



The initial course has been designed for 5 days duration, and there will be places for 6 applicants. Application details will be available in January.

The objectives of the courses are: to increase the self reliance of the course members; to improve their chances of employment in local businesses; to prepare them for more advanced courses in preparation by BLAST.

TTB would be pleased to hear from people with the necessary skills who are prepared to give a day to the course, initially on alternate weeks. Please contact us in the usual way.

UPDATE: The Skills for Self Reliance project now has a team of 6 instructors and three offers of tools. We also have offers of substantial discount from several tool supply companies. We have made a grant application towards the cost of tools, and we are awaiting a decision.
 
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