A CHARITY serving the homeless population in and around Clapham will introduce free lessons in catering and digital skills to clients and members of the local community next month.
Each day more than 100 homeless, vulnerable and isolated people turn up at the Ace of Clubs day centre in South London, where they have access to food, shower facilities and a supportive team of staff.
Of that number a ‘large contingent’ are second generation Irish people, in their 30s and 40s, according to centre director David Logan.
This month the Derry-native launched two additional services the centre now offers its clients, in the form of free educational courses to help build their CVs and make them more attractive to potential employers.
‘We opened our Ace Education Project 18 months ago to help local vulnerable people gain qualifications in vocational courses such as Digital Skills, Food Safety, Budgeting and so forth in order to build their CV and increase their employability” he told The Irish Post this week.
“Several graduating students have gone on to secure employment and find themselves more confident and more involved in local community life as a result of their Ace Education,” he added, “so it’s been amazing to see how it is boosting people’s chances of accessing work, volunteering and further education. We highly recommend our latest courses for anyone who needs a bit of help with their education or CV.”
The two new courses - which are open to Ace of Club clients and also members of the local community – offer a CIEH qualification in Food Safety in Catering or an interactive Start IT Award in Digital Skills (Entry Level 3), for learners with limited or no digital skills.
The food safety course, which teaches participants how to ‘identify and control food safety risks and gain the confidence and expertise to safely deliver quality food to customers’, runs on Fridays, from 9.30am-12noon, until May 8.
The computer skills course, run by the British Computer Society, starts on May 6 and takes place on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9.30am-12noon.
To enrol or for further information about either course call Ace of Clubs on 07432646203 or email [email protected]
