The North Merthyr Tydfil Regeneration Partnership

1
The North Merthyr Tydfil Regeneration
Partnership

• What we did..
• What we found..
• What wed like to see happen..

2
What we did..

• Community-based, soft-entry learning initiatives
  as a means of engaging people (basic skills,
  computer repair and build, cookery and gentle
  exercise).
• More structured initiatives to address skills
  gaps and the poverty trap
• Parentline Plus
• Life Support Programme
• Speech and Language Engagement Pilot
• Strengths and Skills workshops
• ICT facility

3
What we found

• People want to engage, learn, progress, be
  included if the right kind of support is
  available.
• Peer-to-peer support has proved effective.
• Sharing experiences builds confidence around the
  parenting role, which has beneficial effects on
  both family life and other aspects of the
  parents life.
• Once aspirations are raised, people will go for
  their dream job and overcome lack of
  qualifications.
• Alongside traditional learning support, social
  support is vital if people with complex lives are
  to become successful learners and build personal
  resilience.
• Finding full-time childcare that is long-term is
  a problem.
• Local people with life experience and inherent
  qualities are excellent engagers and ambassadors
  for statutory services.

4
What else we found..

• Using existing word-of-mouth networks and
  face-to-face contact is the only effective way of
  engaging harder-to-reach individuals.
• Practitioners need to address their own thoughts,
  beliefs and behaviours when working with
  individuals- otherwise we reinforce a culture of
  dependency.
• The ICT facility has been effective in engaging
  men, it provides practical learning experiences,
  it enables people to develop higher-level skills
  and provide the community with a useful service.

5
What wed like to see happen..

• Full-time, long-term childcare become easily
  accessible to women returners who want to
  re-train in order to gain sustainable employment.
• Traditional learning institutions providing
  non-traditional learners with social support.
• Changes to staff training to develop an
  individuals awareness of why theyre in the
  helping role and how they empower/dis-empower
  service users.
• Changes to adverts so that they do not exclude
  those with excellent experience/qualities yet
  without formal qualifications for some roles.
• Changes in the way community-based learning is
  funded and delivered, promoting higher-level
  achievement and social mobility.