Community (Adult) Learning
The Women & Micro-Enterprise Project
The Women and Micro-Enterprise project, which started in April 2006, aims to improve the economic position of women in rural Devon by promoting and supporting new business start-up activity and the development and growth of existing women-owned micro-enterprises.
The project runs in the North Devon, Torridge, West Devon and South Hams districts and, building on the success of earlier community learning projects run by CCD, it operates through a series of community Business ‘Host’ groups that represent or involve women.
Host Groups
Business Host groups can be any not-for-profit community or special interest group such as a pre-school group, village hall committee, childminder’s association, parent-teacher association, business club, parish council, WI group etc.
There is funding for a total of 16 Business Host groups, spread across the four project districts. As a Business Host Group you will receive the support of the WAM project worker to find out what your members need in terms of business advice, guidance and support and personal training and development. You will then be guided as to the various services already available to support business start-up and business development and gain help in selecting additional support services that meet the needs of your group members.
Project Participants
Any woman over the age of 16 who lives within one of the four project districts is eligible to participate in the WAM project, provided she is interested in finding out more about the possibilities of business start-up or developing her existing business. Wherever possible support and training events will be held locally and funding is available to help with transport and care costs.
Funding
Business Host groups are able to claim up to £1500 of funding towards the additional support and development services that they may wish to buy in for their group. The transport and care cost funding is additional to this amount.
Project Leaflets for Download:
Leaflets are available from the Community Council of Devon on request or by downloading them on line as a pdf file:
Leaflet for potential Community Business Hosts
Leaflet for potential Women Project Participants
Project Background
Research conducted in 2004 by Exeter University and CCD confirmed the significant barriers faced by rural women wishing to join or return to the labour market and recommended entrepreneurship as a flexible and accessible employment opportunity for rural women. WAM is a partnership project managed by The Community Council of Devon on behalf of the Devon and Torbay Learning Partnership. It is funded by Devon Renaissance and Devon County Council and is supported by the European Regional Development Fund.
If you wish to be considered as a “Community Business Host” please call or email to have an informal discussion about your ideas as a voluntary group or organization to jan@devonrcc.org.uk or phone 01392 381256.
The ROLI PROJECT
Thew Rural Outreach Learning Initiative (ROLI) ran until March 2008, using the 'Learning Host' model to target: non-traditional learners in rural and disdavantaged communities. The project established a network of 33 learning Hosts in communities across Devon, who collectively brokered local learning opportunities for over 600 learners.
As part of this project, an external Impact Assessment was commissioned to review the effectiveness of this model, and particularly focussed on three of the projects which have utilised the learning Host model, CORA, RB2L and ROLI
The Executive Summary of this Impact Assessment is available click [Here]
Devon Adult Community Learning - wide variety of courses offered locally. Learners come from a variety of backgrounds with ages from 16 to 92. Free Tasters - Outreach Service - Accredited Courses. Arts & Crafts, Languages, IT, Business, First Aid, Food Hygiene. Find out about subsidised courses. Visit [www.devon.gov.uk/adult learning]
COSMIC - work with people at all levels of ability and confidence making sure they are well supported. Accredited / non-accredited training, ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) and CLAIT, MS Office all applications, Multimedia audio / video, Website development / maintenance, internet and email, graphics and digital cameras. Courses tailored to specific age groups. Free Tasters. Laptops and specialist equipment for disabled users. Visit www.cosmic.org.uk, or call Menna Williams on 01404 813226
The Training Station - Somerset’s one-stop shop for all your training needs. A free, publicly-funded service providing single-point access to high-quality skills development, we have access to an extensive network of training professionals, many of whom tailor their content and delivery to your specific requirements. To find out more, visit www.thetrainingstation.org.uk.
ViSTA (Voluntary Sector Training Alliance) - We offer an extensive programme of FREE short courses, as well as Tailor -made Training, for VCS (Voluntary and Community Sector) organisations in Somerset. Visit www.vistaproject.org.uk
Young Somerset - courses for adult volunteers leading to qualifications in Food Hygiene, First Aid, Health & Safety, Drugs Awareness, Mini Bus Licence, other ASDAN / NOCN courses. Young people, aged 12+, can access a range of ASDAN courses, Personal Finance, Creative Activities, Sports & Games, Adventure & Residential and more. Visit www.youngsomerset.org
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For more information about the COBRA project please contact Greg Davies Email: greg@devonrcc.org.uk Tel: 01392 383443 or you can download the COBRA leaflets for potential hosts or potential learners.
Download the COBRA Learner Leaflet [ Here ]
Download the Learning Hosts Leaflet [ Here ]
For more information on previous projects - CORA Community Outreach in Rural Areas and Rural Bridges to Learning or Rural Bridges to Learning - RB2L - contact Peter Harding email: peter@devonrcc.org.uk Tel: 01392 383443
