‘Learning Works’ is a pioneering employability course joint funded by Clyde Gateway and The Big Lottery and supported by Thenue Housing Association. Course activities are delivered by Glasgow Kelvin College.

The celebration event at Thenue Housing Association on Thursday, 28 January saw those who took part receive certificates in front of their family and friends.

The course has been running in the east end of Glasgow since November 2011. Since then, 13 courses have been delivered supporting over 140 people into work, training, learning or volunteering.

Learning Works is designed to equip participants with the required skills to make them more attractive to potential employers throughout the greater Glasgow area. Those taking part learn computer skills, the importance of goal setting, personal development as well as being given the opportunity to brush up on their literacy and numeracy.

Niki Spence, Clyde Gateway’s senior manager for business and community growth, said: “One of Clyde Gateway’s top priorities is to create employment opportunities for local residents and the Learning Works initiative is the perfect example of how we support individuals, in this case, in their efforts to return to full or part-time employment.

“Working together with Thenue Housing and Glasgow Kelvin College, we have built up an informative course over the last five years which has gone a long way in supporting the learning requirements of those living within the Clyde Gateway area. We wish all those who took part in the course the very best of luck in their continued job search and hope that they found this latest session useful.”

Clare Parkes, 34, from Calton, took part in the initiative in March 2014. Now in part-time work, she is returning to university in September to study community development. She said: “When I joined I was a single mum and didn’t feel like I was going anywhere. However, Learning Works gave me a real push and helped broaden my horizons. It also got me started in a lot of local volunteering, which enabled me to help other people with my skills.”

Tracy Lennon from Learning Works added: “Learning Works is a crucial part of community learning as it provides local people with a wide range of accessible learning and development opportunities. We would like to congratulate all who participate in it and wish them all the best with their future plans.”