Addressing priorities in Swansea Council’s Corporate Plan 2021-22, including digital upskilling, place-making and social cohesion, our Programme for Elevating Digital and Language Skills (PEDALS) is delivering clear civic mission benefits to Swansea, including developing active citizenship, enabling social enterprise, and enhancing wellbeing and place attachment through learner activities.
The project has four work packages to meet different communities’ needs:
- Enhancing Digital Skills in the Workplace defined specific digital communications skills training required across a range of start-ups, social enterprises and not-for-profit groups in the Swansea area. Working with an external digital communications partner, short CPD work-based training modules were designed and are being delivered, adapted to individual organisational needs.
- Digital Skills through Filmmaking is providing training in communication and film to enhance digital literacy and skills among 13–18-year-olds who are experiencing isolation, vulnerability or mental health issues. Hooked around heritage themes, training in digital technology aims to help develop young people’s confidence and civic attachment.
- Language and Teaching Skills is addressing language barriers to employment by providing free, accredited English language classes for beginner-intermediate level learners, helping them to integrate within the community and move effectively into further education, training, or work.
- Refugee Employment Skills Support is tackling linguistic and digital exclusion, providing training to help refugee and asylum seekers into work, and building partnerships with the Welsh Refugee Council
Project lead: David Turner. Project members: Tracy Breathnach, Sian Rees, Jill Boggs, Hilary Orange and Sadie-Jade Fouracre-Reynolds
Project duration: 2021-2022
Contact David: d.m.turner@swansea.ac.uk
Follow David on Twitter @DrDavidMT