Stepping-stones

The Stepping-stones project aims to increase the take-up of Skills for Life pre-entry to entry level 3 language, literacy and numeracy provision by engaging employers across the region in assessing the needs of their workforce to provide a pathway to the Train to Gain offer.   The project will encourage individuals to step forward and engage in SfL learning and development to establish a foot on the learning ladder and thereby increase their skills and job prospects.  For detailed  information regarding SfL needs across the region see the East of England Skills and Competitiveness Partnership report ‘Literacy and Numeracy Basic Skill needs in the East of England’.  Engagement onto the project will be through established/newly defined specialist networks/partnerships and new and innovative ways of supporting those employed to cope and progress better at work will be developed and disseminated.

Specific objectives include:

• 2,726 participants to receive funding to undertake learning at pre-entry or entry level
• Working in partnership with key stakeholders, priority sector employers via SSC links, TtG consortia / networks, nextstep IAG partnerships, JC+, VCS organisations, to extend the reach of SfL to new audiences.
• Provision of support to the VCS to lead to increased delivery of SfL learning.
• Working with learning provider county and regionally-based networks to commission learning programmes that meet learner/employer needs.
• Development of materials to promote benefits of SfL learning to employers and learners.
• Providing effective IAG support, to increase numbers accessing and achieving national qualifications eg vocationally specific NVQs levels 1 & 2, Apprenticeships and improve vocational programme recruitment rates.
• Linking this project to other complementary projects, offering employability skills, mentoring / learning champion development and engaging learners in ICT provision.

The project will be linking with other ESF projects to ensure maximum gain for participants.  Essentially this project acts as a stepping-stone for example onto Train to Gain as learners at entry level will need progression routes to bring their skills levels up to Level 2.   Various brokerage routes will feed into working with employers.  Links with other projects need to be established so that the capacity in the region can be developed to deliver the challenging targets set within the Leitch report.  We can do this by linking and working together. 

If you are a Stepping-stones provider, you can download promotional resources here.

For more information contact Sheila Louth,the Project Administrator, on 01480 409306 or email sheila@acer.ac.uk.

Stepping-stones is funded by: