Community group holding launch event in Bridport (From Dorset Echo)

Community group holding launch event in Bridport

5:00pm Monday 14th January 2013 in News By James Tourgout

A NEW community training group is holding its launch event in Bridport Town Hall on January 24.

Skills Training Bridport is staging the event at 6pm with representatives of colleges, training and business support units as well as councils and businesses.

Coun Ros Kayes, a founder member of STB, said: “We are particularly interested in meeting local businesses and also community volunteers who might wish to get involved either in mentoring job seekers or mentoring those looking to start a small enterprise.

“We would encourage them to come along and see what we are doing and to get involved.

“We have a good number of community members already but there is such a wide range of expertise in the Bridport community that we’d love to be able to spread the word and get more people involved.”

Weymouth College, Yeovil College and Kingston Maurward College will be represented at the launch as well as well as Dorset Adult Learning and the National Apprenticeship Service.

Training, employment and business support units from Dorset County and West Dorset District Councils will also be there as well as businesses.

There will be refreshments and presentations at the event followed by a chance to meet the team and local training providers and to learn more about mentoring, apprenticeships, supporting careers training in schools, and developing on the job training for local employers.

Coun Kayes said STB was formed after the end of the BLAST training group and is working with all of the supporters of that initiative.

It has won a grant from the National Learning in Deprived Communities Fund to work with unemployed adults aged 19-plus. Fresh Start is a programme offering up to 20 hours of work related support and training at the classrooms and workshops of Miles Cross education and enterprise centre.

It aims to direct people onto apprenticeships, full time training or employment as well as giving them support at a number of on-site workshops to start up their own small business.

Other initiatives being worked on are a Bridport Jobs Fair and a Work Ready careers support and mentoring programme for schools.

STB is also looking at a development of the existing Eco- Skills programme which involves expanding training in renewable energy locally.

Anyone interested in a place on the Fresh Start programme can email emailskillstrainingbridport@gmail.com or call 07920 850167.

Variety Of Topics Discussed

The launch will include council and business speakers as well as former job hunters describing their experiences.

There will be a chance to meet the team and local training providers.

People will have the chance to learn more about mentoring, apprenticeships, supporting careers training in schools, and developing on-the-job training for local employers among other topics.