Opportunities Guide Version 3 - Dumfries and Galloway Council

32 Pages·2013·0.41 MB·English

by  Brenda Heenan

16
+

LEARNING

CHOICES

16+ Learning Choices

Opportunities for All

The information provided in this guide is to allow quick access to information on
potential opportunities available for young people in Dumfries and Galloway

If any contact information needs to be updated please feel free to advise us of this via email
on: [email protected]

October 2012 Page 1 of 32
Contents

Introduction to 16+ Learning Choices Page 3
Full or Part-Time Education in School Page 5
Full or Part-time Further Education Page 6
Full or Part-time Higher Education Page 7
Online Learning Page 7
Open Learn and Openings courses Page 8-9
National Training Programmes Pages 10-11
Training Provision (other) Page 12
Employment Page 14
Self-employment and entrepreneurship Page 15
Personal skills development Page 16
Local learning classes Page 17
Volunteering in Dumfries and Galloway Page 22
Further information on employability/development opportunities Page 24
Opportunities for young people with additional support needs Page 27
Information on Financial Assistance Page 30
Contact Information for Opportunities for All Coordinator Page 32

October 2012 Page 2 of 32
16+ Learning Choices provides opportunities for everyone
Did you know that everyone leaving school has the right to an offer of education,
employment or training? The 16+ learning choices programme guarantees everyone an
offer when they leave school. Below is the formal Scottish Government confirmation of what
the offer means and after that is a guide on where to look for information on all sorts of
offers which might be of interest to you if you are leaving school:

Scottish Government Guidance defines a 16+ Learning Choice offer as follows:

“The offer should be appropriate for the young person; to meet their individual needs and
aspirations. That means it must be at the right level; accessible both in terms of location
and local labour market opportunity; and delivered through the right learning method – must
include agreed start date. While the 16+LC initiative places value on any episode of
employment to enhance the longer term prospects of our young people; we also need to
identify where relevant qualifications can be undertaken as part of an employee
development process. This will involve building our knowledge levels of all young people
who access employment (particularly straight from school) and proactively engaging with the
young person and employer to raise awareness of these relevant qualifications.

Specifically it states that the offer must be one of the following contexts.

Education in school;
Attending school for all or part of the curriculum, in S4 (or S3 where a young person
reaches their statutory leaving date in that period), S5 and S6. It might include a
wholly school-based curriculum or a curriculum delivered by a range of providers.
The school retains overall responsibility for planning the most appropriate educational
provision for the young person.

Full or part-time further education in FE;
Attending college and studying below the Scottish Credit and Qualifications
Framework level 7 (below HNC).

Full or part-time HE;
Attending university or an FE/HE college to study at HNC level or above.

National training programmes
Get Ready for Work, excluding Lifeskills (full/part-time, ad hoc attendance)
Skillseekers – employed or non-employed trainee status, VQ at SCQF level 5
Modern Apprenticeships – employed, VQ at SCQF levels 5-7 in specific sector

Employment (not a national training programme);
Employed in full or part-time employment (with a minimum of 16 hours).
Self employed and earning a living working independently of an employer.

Personal/Skills Development
Some young people are not yet ready for, or in the position (for any number of valid
reasons) to participate in any of the foregoing opportunities. Where this is the case,
individuals should be able to engage in Personal/Skills Development, often, but not
exclusively delivered by a community learning and development or a third sector
organisation, as a stepping-stone to a positive destination such as:
- Get Ready for Work Lifeskills
- Employment involving less than 16 hours and including either job-related training
or Personal/Skills Development

October 2012 Page 3 of 32
Volunteering
Undertaking volunteering, which will involve a young person giving of his/her time
and energy through a third party. It will benefit both the young person and others.
A young person will get involved in volunteering through choice, and should not be
motivated primarily by financial gain or by a wage or salary. Some volunteering
includes a financial allowance.

Activity Agreements
The young person works with one agency representative of their choice to design a
package of activities which suits their own interests, goals and areas for
improvement. This work leads to a sustainable positive destination in the form of
any of the above.

October 2012 Page 4 of 32
FULL OR PART-TIME EDUCATION IN SCHOOL

You can continue with education after your first statutory school leaving date (you will
require an interview to confirm continuation at school) as per an agreed offers process.

October 2012 Page 5 of 32
FULL OR PART-TIME FURTHER EDUCATION

Dumfries & Galloway College
Tel: [phone] or for admissions 01387 734 059 email: [email protected]
Text: 60081 Start your text with Dumfries and then your question (make sure you put a
space after Dumfries).

Stranraer Campus, Lewis Street, Stranraer DG9 7AL Tel: [phone]

Barony College – General enquiries:
Admissions: 01387 860251 or email: [email protected]

Courses fall into the following sections:
Agriculture Animal Care, Equine and Veterinary Nursing
Forestry and Horticulture Special Programmes (barriers to learning)
Engineering Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatics

School College Partnerships
The following link programmes take place in S4-S6, these are one year programmes:

Dumfries & Galloway College
Dumfries Campus Stranraer Campus
Beauty and Hairdressing Beauty and Hairdressing
Computing Business & Administration
Construction Computing
Creative Industries Construction
Education Studies Education Studies
Engineering Engineering
Hospitality Health and Social Studies
Health and Social Studies Hospitality
Sport Sport

October 2012 Page 6 of 32
FULL OR PART-TIME HIGHER EDUCATION

Study Options in Dumfries and Galloway:
University of the West of The University of Dumfries & Galloway
Scotland Glasgow College
Business Management, Health and Social Studies, Business, Computing,
Enterprise, International History, Humanities, Construction, Creative
Marketing, Human Resource Literature, Philosophy, Industries, Education,
Management, Computing, Primary Education with Engineering, Hairdressing,
IT, IT & Management, Teaching Qualifications Beauty and Complementary
Childhood Studies, Social Therapies, Health & Social
Work, Adult Nursing, Mental Studies, Sports & Recreation
Health Nursing, Veterinary
Nursing

Contact Details
University of the West of The University of Glasgow Dumfries &
Scotland Galloway College
Call: 01387 702075 Call: 01387 702131 Call 01387 734059
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
www.glasgow.ac.uk/dumfries/visitus
www.learndirect.co.uk – this website will provide information on opportunities available
throughout England (useful for information relating to Cumbria), including opportunities in:
Maths
Computers and I.T.
Job Seeking Skills
Business and Job Specific Skills
Languages

Online Learning – Ready for Work
Ready for Work has been designed for young people starting out and can help you make a
successful transition from school into work.

If you are in full-time education in the UK or seeking employment then the programme is
free. If you are employed or on an apprenticeship there is a £50 charge, further information
is available on the website.

Ready for Work offers 12 short online training courses on subjects of real importance to all
prospective employers. You access the courses here on www.readyforwork.org

Course List
There are 12 online modules:
Ready to learn Thriving in diversity
Showing respect at work Embracing Change
Managing stress at work Health and safety in the
office
Making email work for you Working with the internet
Drugs and alcohol at work Data protection at work
Be a responsible employee Me and my career

October 2012 Page 7 of 32
OpenLearn
The OpenLearn website gives free access to Open University course materials. On
LearningSpace, you'll find hundreds of free study units, each with a discussion forum. Study
independently at your own pace or join a group and use the free learning tools to work with
others. Topics available (dependent on start dates and availability) include:
Art and History
Business and Management
Education
Health and Lifestyle
IT and Computing
Law
Mathematics and Statistics
Modern Languages
Society
Science and Nature
Study Skills
Technology
Do you need any qualifications to use OpenLearn?
No, you don’t need any formal educational qualifications to use OpenLearn. Each OpenLearn
unit is set at one of four levels – introductory, intermediate, advanced or masters. The level
indicates the amount of previous educational experience expected to enable you to study the
unit without too much difficulty and within the stated hours of study. If you are new to
higher education it is recommended that you start with units at introductory level.

OpenLearn is an opportunity for informal study - in your own time access materials in areas
familiar or new to you, without the pressure of keeping to a timetable or sitting exams.
Instead, assess your own progress by keeping an online learning journal, discussing the
topics with other online learners in forums and completing self assessment exercises where
you control when the answer is revealed. While OpenLearn isn't exactly the same as
studying at University, it gives real learning experiences taken from degree courses - and for
free! For further information or to register go to:
http://www.open.ac.uk/openlearn/home.php

Open University - Openings Courses
You can see what Open University study is like, try out a new subject, develop your learning
skills, build your confidence, improve your knowledge and enjoy yourself. Openings courses
are Level 1, 10 point introductory courses with lots of support and no examinations
specifically designed for people who want a gradual introduction to a specific subject or to
the world of study.

Courses are available in a variety of subjects including:
Learning to change Introducing environment
Making sense of the arts Starting with law
Starting with maths Starting with psychology
Understanding children Understanding health
Understanding society Exploring sport online

Most Openings courses cost around £115 but if you are on benefits or have an annual
income of £22,000 or less financial support may be available for free places on a first-come,
first served basis.

October 2012 Page 8 of 32
You will receive a pack of books, DVDS, and be assigned a tutor who will provide one-to-one
telephone tutorials on a regular basis throughout the course. There are four start dates
throughout the year and each course takes about 5 months to complete.

Once you have completed your course you can get local advice on how to progress onto
other courses either with the OU or other providers.

For further information go to: www.open.ac.uk/openings or call 0845 3006090

October 2012 Page 9 of 32
NATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMMES

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) delivers a range of national training programmes, working
with private learning providers across Dumfries and Galloway to ensure that everyone in
Scotland has the opportunity to develop their career.

Participating in one of SDS’s national training programmes can equip you with the skills and
industry recognised qualifications you need to progress in your career – and you need not
take time off work to study full-time to achieve your goals. You will also gain invaluable
practical work experience through placements, and become more capable and confident in
your abilities as a result.
Modern Apprenticeships give people in employment the opportunity to work towards
an industry recognised accreditation.
Training for Work provides vocational training support to people aged 18 or over who
have been continuously unemployed for at least 13 weeks and are actively looking for
work.
Get Ready for Work arranges skills training and work placements for people aged 16
to 19 who are finding it difficult to access training, learning and employment.

Links for further information:

www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk

Or:

http://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/our-services/services-for-individuals/national-
training-programmes.aspx

Get Ready for Work Provision

To access Get Ready for Work you will need to be referred by Skills Development Scotland.

Contact your local Skills Development Scotland Centre in Dumfries 01387 272500, Stranraer
01776 889793 or call our helpline on 0845 8 502 502 to find out about the eligibility
criteria for Getting Ready for Work.

Provider Contact details
Apex Scotland Ltd

Dumfries Tel: [phone]

Stranraer Tel: [phone]

Dumfries & Galloway College

Dumfries Tel: [phone]

Stranraer Tel: [phone]

October 2012 Page 10 of 32