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Welcome to the February edition of Get Connected: the email newsletter from Manchester Adult Education Service (MAES).
It’ll soon be the half-term holidays in Manchester and we're looking forward to spending time with friends and family. Then we’ll be back with a whole range of new courses and hopefully some lovely spring sunshine!
This edition features a little bit of our history, a wonderful learner journey, a spotlight on our friends at Reform Radio and info on the new Essential Digital Skills qualifications.
30th anniversary year
2022 is an exciting year for us - it’s thirty years since the start of Manchester Adult Education!
As part of Manchester City Council, we have been helping adults in Manchester connect to their potential for many years. However, our current organisation came into being in 1992 and since then we’ve supported around 150,000 adult learners get back into education and get on in their lives!
This year, for our pearl anniversary, we’ll be sharing our highlights of the past 30 years, showcasing our current course offer, and looking to the future of adult education in Manchester.
Check out our social media channels for news and events happening this year.
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From furlough to the future!
When Angelo Alfano faced furlough as a result of the pandemic last year, he decided to use the time productively and brush up on his maths and English skills with Manchester Adult Education Service. It was a decision that led to Angelo enrolling at Edge Hill University to pursue his chosen career of working for the NHS as a Mental Health Nurse.
“I decided to choose MAES mainly because of the flexibility in the times and days of the courses which enabled me to do both maths and English at the same time. Also, a key factor was the fact that the courses are free.
“I was really impressed with MAES. They provided us all with a Chromebook so we could access the course and complete our work easily and provided a lot of support with online learning.”
Angelo added: “Both my maths and English teachers were fantastic and very professional. We covered a huge range of topics and both of them prepared me well for the exams.
“I would definitely recommend MAES as a place to progress and improve your qualifications. I was given free career advice that proved invaluable. It is a great opportunity to learn and progress your studies.”
If you want a career change like Angelo, or simply want to brush up your skills, see our website for free and flexible courses.
Reform Radio
We are proud to work with a host of partners across the city, which includes the multi-award winning online radio station and arts organisation: Reform Radio.
Created in 2013, by three friends in the basement of their shared house, the aim of the radio station was to support young people into employment. From those early days, Reform Radio has flourished and in 20/21 it delivered 906 creative sessions and hundreds of pastoral sessions supporting 312 young adults, 80% of whom progressed into employment, education or volunteering.
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MAES has partnered with Reform on a range of projects, such as podcasting courses, wellbeing workshops, a Buddyline to connect younger and older residents in phone conversations, and DJ-ing skills.
Find out more about this amazing Manchester collective on their website and if you’d like to partner with us, please contact daniel.shercliff@manchester.gov.uk.
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Future-proof yourself with Essential Digital Skills
According to a 2018 report by Lloyds Bank, around 4.3 million (8%) of the UK population have no basic digital skills and 11.3 million adults (21%) do not have all five digital skills of: Managing information, Problem solving, Communicating, Creating, and Transacting.
Having insecure digital skills can cause serious disadvantages for adults. The report found that those with no or lacking digital skills:
- earn on average £13,000 less than those with all five digital skills
- are less likely to advance in their careers
- miss out on saving money via online transactions
The new Essential Digital Skills qualification at Entry 3 and Level 1 was launched in August 2020 and MAES was one of the first adult education providers in the country to offer it on our Digital Essentials courses. This qualification is free for adults aged 19+ and covers the 5 key digital skills which learners need for work and life.
Our current Digital Essentials learners told us that they feel safer online, are more independent and are now able to support others with computers. They also said that they use their new digital skills at work and have greater confidence, which has had a positive impact on their wellbeing.
We have new courses starting next half-term so see our Digital Skills page to join a class or email kate.harrison@manchester.gov.uk for more info.
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