Equality & Diversity i-Pod Prize Winner

On Monday 22 February 2010 Sarah Adams, Director for the Centre for Equality and Diversity presented an iPod Touch to Anna Solinska who completed a questionnaire about the barriers to entering further education and training for some of our communities in Ipswich and Suffolk – and was selected at random to win an iPod Touch!

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funded a project in Ipswich to find out why young people from Polish, Portuguese and African-Caribbean communities do not go into education or training. Suffolk New College along with CSV Media Clubhouse, WS Training, M.E.A.T, Eastern Angles and 4rce joined forces to encourage more young people into education and training. As part of the project questionnaires asking young people why they didn’t come into education or training were widely circulated.

The two main reasons why young people from these communities identified in the project do not pursue education or training are lack of language skills and accessibility of funding. Although some funding is available for English language training to get people into employment, the demand is much greater than the partners are able to deliver and funding allows.

Anna, prize winner said: “We want to make sure that as many young people as possible can take advantage of life-changing education and training. That is why it is so important that we really understand young people’s reasons for not taking up opportunities.”