EBOR women's group, a community group in Leeds who provide support for local women, have been dedicated visitors to the learndirect centre at West Yorkshire Playhouse for many months and their dedication has really paid off.
They have been working on their skills and are launching a community newsletter which will be distributed to 1,500 homes in the Burmantofts area.
The EBOR women's group (Everyone Benefits from Overall Relaxation) are based at Ebor Gardens Community Centre in Leeds and have been using learndirect to build on their English and Maths skills over the last year including the 'Helping your Child' and 'Numbers Game' courses. They are now undertaking courses in 'Desktop Publishing' to equip them with all the further skills they need to produce a professional quality newsletter.
A total of seven women aged between 18 and 40 who belong to the EBOR women's group have completed courses through West Yorkshire Playhouse learndirect centre, fitting their learning around their other activities and family commitments.
The women have found that the flexible nature of the courses means that they can learn an hour a week or an hour a day, depending on what else is happening in their lives. They have completed learndirect courses to help their children do well at school, brush up on their punctuation and grammar and video and workbook packages which puts them in control of improving their number skills.
learndirect training has totally changed one of the women's lives. Mother of three small children, Sam Finch 24, lacked the qualifications and the confidence to get a good job. She left school at 13 but wanted to help her children with their homework. After joining the women's group at Ebor Gardens Community Centre, Sam took some taster courses in basic skills and literature - and was quickly bitten by the study bug. She soon achieved qualifications and hasn't looked back since.
"I never enjoyed school and couldn't wait to leave," said Sam, who lives in Leeds "But I have found adult learning completely different and it was great when I realised that I could achieve qualifications that could lead to a job. I would encourage anyone to take advantage of learning opportunities - however well or badly they did at school," said Sam. "The flexibility of learndirect is also a plus for me. Being able to come and go as I please fits in nicely with my lifestyle and it enables me to learn at my own pace."