A trailblazing course developed by Thenue Housing Association and Glasgow Kelvin College to help the unemployed learn new skills and improve their job prospects has celebrated a new milestone.

A group of eight long-term unemployed people from the east end of Glasgow this week completed their studies in what is the 16th time the course has run.

And they gave the pioneering project an overwhelming thumbs up as they marked their achievement at a ‘Celebration of Learning’ event at the Calton Heritage and Learning Centre.

The award-winning ‘Learning Works’ initiative is a joint project between Thenue Housing and the College. Many previous participants have gone onto employment and further and higher education.

The free course is aimed at unemployed people in the area of the east end served by the regeneration agency Clyde Gateway and includes learning computer skills, health and wellbeing, personal development, communications, numeracy and literacy.

Learning Works has been one of the greatest community successes ever undertaken by Thenue - helped enormously by generous financial support from Clyde Gateway and Big Lottery Scotland.

Addressing the successful participants, Thenue chief executive Charlie Turner praised their initiative in coming forward to join the course and achieve success.

Charlie said: “It’s worth remembering that those taking part volunteered for the course, committing to a period of learning over a number of weeks and have ultimately improved their chances of employability. That’s what Learning Works is all about and we applaud their fantastic success.”

Alan Sherry, principal of Glasgow Kelvin College, said: “We are now five years on from our first Learning Works programme and the hard work of staff and learners continues to generate success. Almost all learners have gone on to employment or to further learning, turning their lives around and moving forward to make a difference in their communities and personal lives.

“Learning Works is one of a kind and this is only possible through our productive partnership with Thenue and Clyde Gateway. We look forward to developing it further. Our congratulations go to this group of learners and we wish them every success in their next steps.”