Community Learning Development Resource 601 – 04
WORKER GROUPS AND THEIR NEEDS.
SUMMARY
During the course of introductory workshops about community learning, a number of workers, agency managers and representatives, identified a variety of training and development needs which they felt were relevant in their own work arenas. These related to the development of practice which would support individual and community capacity building and would contribute to regeneration activity and outcomes.
Worker group
|
Identified learning needs
|
|
Library Development Workers
|
- Understanding and practical skills of working informally within community settings – understanding community and community development work.
- Understanding and using skills within formal and non-formal adult learning, and in first steps learning in library settings.
|
| Public Health workers – Health Visitors and Community Nurses |
- Being able to evidence successful learning and positive changes in client behaviour in priority community health work.
|
|
ACL Part-time tutors and learning support workers |
- Working within informal learning settings and first-steps learning, with non-traditional learners.
- How to enable personal development through subject learning and in work with non-traditional / hard to reach learners.
|
|
District Council development workers – arts, sports, culture, environment, etc.
|
- Understanding the learning within regeneration, community provision, development and action.
- How to encourage learning which will enable local people to participate and become more involved in local activities and community initiatives.
- How to enable people to be more involved in community planning and consultation activities.
|
|
Volunteering – training/ development workers
|
- Understanding what contribution can be made by the voluntary sector.
- How to encourage a greater commitment to volunteering in support of community development and improvement.
- How community and voluntary groups can develop their role in community development and improvement.
|
| Community development workers – CVS, District Council, Agencies, LEA |
.
- Understanding and developing contributions within learning, education and training provision.
- How to develop a viable role for the worker and the agency, building on existing practice.
|
|
Education and training providers /programme managers |
- Community-based learning – voice capturing and effective learner progression.
- Understanding learning needs and developing the curriculum for non-traditional adult learners – meeting needs more effectively.
|
| New workers, volunteers, and learners as leaders |
- Understanding and developing the skills and capacity to engage in regeneration successfully.
|
Common areas of interest, where many workers and managers identified the need for training and development included:
- How to develop effective co-working arrangements – collaboration, partnerships and networking within localities
- How to evidence learning success and outcomes, where this falls outside recognised accredited provision
- How to reach the ‘hard-to-reach’ and how to work with them successfully
- How to get a work balance between doing the job with learners and meeting the administrative demands of evidencing in detail what is done and achieved.