The project is to help the Youth trying to access work enquiries. There is nowhere in the area for them to have access to learning skills in creating CV's etc or in bringing their IT skills up to date and feel there is a great need for this. Community Education was removed from this area a few years ago, and it never offered work opportunities via the internet. Keresley has no access to learning or development opportunities. The group is now making ways to bring the youth in and support them in the use of using computers and the internet.

The project will help people create CV's and access job opportunities via the web, as their only other option is to travel into Bedworth/Nuneaton where the costs are out of their reach and the bus service is limited.

The project is aimed at the youth from 14 years up. Computer skills in Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook and Internet are followed using the principles of ECDL. It will take place at the local Keresley Community Centre. The project will initially run for twelve months providing a sessional tutor to teach, by which time at the end of it we hope to have raised funds to pay for those that feel confident and have progressed well to sit the ECDL test thereby gaining a recognised qualification.

Aiming at the people who fall between the gaps in criteria, the young people, the older people, those who work but just want to brush up on skills, those young people who do not get on well with formal learning environments (schools) and would learn more in our informal community setting.

The project will work closely with the WCC Youth and at Community Services (Bedworth Heath and Keresley Community Project) leader at the centre who sees this as a brilliant opportunity in helping and supporting people through a course and onto the work or voluntary sector. At the moment a job club has been set up for those that have left school to come along, access the Internet and learn how to create CV's.

The volunteers that will be working closely with a trained Sessional IT tutor, some of the volunteers hold the ECDL certificate and will be able to learn from the tutor, giving them the opportunity to work unsupported later.

The volunteers are well versed in writing CV's, but also by communicating with the young, talking about what life was like in their day/giving them a feel via computers and the history we have gathered about Keresley we hope it will give the young a sense of identity in relation to their community.

The Keresley Family History Society were awarded £4,929 from the Community Plan Fund 2008

If you would like further information about the project please contact:

Cecilia Donnelly
(024) 7633 5988
keresleyfamilyhistorysociety@yahoo.co.uk