How Peterborough is helping its workers gain new qualifications

But education isn’t just for the young, it’s just as important that we offer the chance for people of all ages to widen their skills to increase the opportunities available to them, and to support employers who need people with the skills and qualifications to fill roles.

If you think of adult education, what may spring to mind is people taking classes to learn new hobbies or brushing up on a foreign language ahead of a trip abroad. Such courses are only part of the overall offering.

The £11.5 million budget for adult education in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough was this year devolved from central Government to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, providing the ability to deliver something much more ambitious.

As chairman of the combined authority’s Skills Committee, I can vouch for the hard work that has gone into rethinking how we spend that money.

We know in Peterborough there are people who cannot apply for some jobs because they don’t have the right skills. Equally, we have many businesses which struggle to find people with the right skills. Adult education is the answer to both these problems.

The combined authority is working with learning providers to use adult education funding to target the 13.6 per cent of the Peterborough population that currently have no qualifications.

By giving low-skilled, low-paid working adults training, they will be able to use this learning to secure better paying and more stable jobs.

Integral to this, is working with employers to see what kinds of skills they need from our population.

So in Peterborough, adult education will offer courses in logistics, warehousing and storage. There will be courses in the health and care sector, including adult social care, and broader courses in business skills as well as qualifications in English and mathematics.

We are also asking learning providers to be more flexible, offering courses in the evenings or part-time so that they are open to all.

Adult education for leisure and pleasure should not be underestimated. It brings enjoyment, social interaction and keeps minds active.

But a shifting of the focus to what happens to learners as a result of their course will provide better balance to how we spend money on adult education.

The potential is vast, and if we get this right, we are in a strong position to secure even more funding from Government to help even more people gain skills and qualifications.

The implementation of this across Peterborough and Cambridgeshire will come later this summer, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing the results.

It’s a busy weekend in the city centre this week with Armed Forces Day on Saturday and events taking place all weekend as part of Peterborough Pride.

The Armed Forces Day event takes place between 10am and 5pm and will include a short service, people offering personal accounts of their time serving their country, music and a celebration tea party.

Peterborough Pride launched yesterday (Friday) and runs until July 5 and is a chance to show support for everyone across our city, regardless of their sexuality or gender identity.

I raised the rainbow flag with Pride co-ordinator Simon Green outside the Town Hall yesterday at 10am. There’s lots happening during the week, including youth cafes, dog walks, book clubs and theatre productions.

On Sunday, there will be a parade which leaves the back of the city market at 12.30pm, ending at the Town Hall.

Visit www.peterboroughprideuk.com for more information.

The organisers of both events deserve a huge amount of credit for the number and variety of activities and things to see and do that are taking place.

Fish and chips have a reputation for not being good for your waistline. But there’s now a fish and chip shop in Peterborough which is offering customers a healthier option.

Fishtastic in Cardea is one of the first food outlets in the city to win a Healthy Options Award, a new accreditation given by the council to those which make healthy menu changes.

On the menu are mini portions, grilled fish, side salads, homemade fishcakes and tartare sauce and frying chips and fish at a higher temperature so they absorb less oil.

The Healthy Option Award is free for any business to apply for.

To find out more, visit http://www.healthier-options.org.uk/