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Work preparation

 
 
Man filling out a form
Age UK’s work preparation programmes enable participants to progress from school or unemployment into work and career development, with professional awards and nationally recognised qualifications.

Our work preparation programmes are for workers and job seekers of all ages, school leavers, people dealing with redundancy, career changers, and people in later life, as well as employers and intermediary and government agencies. Many of our programmes have government funding available for eligible participants. 

Young man with older woman 

Recognition for our training

We were highly commended by the Skills for Care Accolades, from the authority on social care training and development in England, as one of the top three training providers and assessment centres 2008, for helping care workers overcome access barriers to gain Skills for Life qualifications.

 

Entry to employment (E2E)

Our government-funded entry to employment programme (E2E) is for eligible young people aged 16 to 18, to develop personal and work skills.

E2E covers many vocational sectors and can lead to a job, an apprenticeship or a place on a college course. You are entitled to receive the education maintenance allowance (EMA) while participating and you may earn bonus payments for your achievements.

E2E is tailored to meet your individual learner needs, with information, advice and guidance to support you through the programme’s key elements:

  • vocational knowledge and skills leading to level 1 or level 2 units from a relevant national vocational qualification
  • key skills (communication and application of number)
  • personal development, inter-personal relations and social skills
  • career awareness and job search skills
  • employability skills including problem solving, effective thinking and team building activities
  • health and safety, healthy living and manual handling
  • citizenship knowledge and awareness.

E2E provides the environment and the support that you need to progress to the next stage of your personal and career development. Your programme includes training at our centre and going on a work placement in the career of your choice, building up to four days a week as your confidence grows.
We deliver our E2E programme on a rolling basis, in the workplace and at our training centres in Greater Manchester, the north Midlands and the West Midlands.

Email our training centres in Greater Manchester, the north Midlands and the West Midlands about E2E.

 

Foundation learning (FL)

Our government-funded foundation learning provision (FL) is for eligible young people, school leavers aged 16 to 18, job seekers and eligibile workers, to increase your participation and achievement, and enable you to progress through work and life.

FL is made up of credit-based units and qualifications from entry level to level 1 and level 2.

The optional units offered include vocational knowledge, skills and understanding in your choice of sector, functional skills, and personal and social development:

  • functional English, mathematics, and information and communication technology (ICT) at NVQ entry level, level 1 or level 2
  • City and Guilds employability and social skills qualification
  • National Open College Network (NOCN) award for progression or Certificate for progression
  • NVQ level 1 information technology qualification (ITQ).

We deliver our FL on a rolling basis at most of our training centres in England.

Contact our training centres in England about FL.
Man in a suit

From our participants

‘When I started at Age UK Training I had nothing; no money, no job, no support, but you and all the staff at the centre changed that, so with much appreciation I say thank you.’

Employability skills

Our 12-week government-funded employability skills programme is for eligible job seekers aged 18 and over in any sector, to:

  • gain an opens link in new window Asdan (Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network) employability qualification
  • improve literacy and numeracy
  • complete a work placement taster in preparation for securing employment
  • join an apprenticeship programme.

We deliver our 12-week employability skills programme on a rolling basis, in the workplace and at our training centre in Cumbria.

Email our training centre in Cumbria about our employability skills programme.

 

Kickstart

Our government-funded 12-week Kickstart programme supports eligible young people aged 16 to 18, with learning and social needs, to progress their career aspirations through supported work placement tasters.

Kickstart is a work-based programme offering:

  • skills, confidence and experience to seek work
  • entry level literacy or numeracy awards, and key skill awards
  • preparation for a chosen occupation.

We deliver our 12-week Kickstart programme on a rolling basis, in the workplace from our training centre in the West Midlands.

Email our training centre in the West Midlands about our employability skills programme.

Recognition for our participants

Skills for Life Learner

Walsall Lifelong Learning awards 2008


New Deal

We provide this government-funded 13-week Jobcentre Plus programme to help eligible job seekers aged 18 and over to gain employment, job readiness training and qualifications in your choice of sector.

We deliver our 13-week New Deal programme on a rolling basis at our training centre in Cumbria.

Email our training centre in Cumbria about our New Deal programme.

 

React

Our 12-month React programme, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, is for people aged 18 and over, who are dealing with redundancy or have been unemployed for no more than six months, and seeking a career change to the health and social care or children's care, learning and development sectors. You can gain NVQ level 2 or level 3 awards in health and social care or children’s care, learning and development, as well as key skill awards.

React offers one-to-one support, work experience and job seeking activities.

We deliver our 12-month React programme on a rolling basis, in the workplace and at our training centre in Ebbw Vale in Wales.

Email our training centre in Ebbw Vale about our React programme.

 

Response to redundancy

Our government-funded eight-week response to redundancy programme is for people who are dealing with redundancy or have been unemployed for no more than six months. The programme enables you to explore career directions and develop job seeking and vocational skills in your choice of sector.

We deliver our eight-week response to redundancy programme on a rolling basis at our training centres in the north Midlands.

Email our training centres in the north Midlands about our response to redundancy programme.

Recognition for our participants

Two Learner categories and one Employer category

Learning and Skills Council and CXL Lancashire Learning Agreement Pilot awards 2007


Work-focused training

Our government-funded 13-week programme of work-focused training is for eligible job seekers aged 18 to 25 who have received job seekers allowance for six months or more. You can gain an NVQ level 2 award in health and social care or children's care, learning and development.

Work-focused training provides work experience and confidence building, as well as health and social care or children's care, learning and development qualifications.

We deliver our 13-week work-focused training programme on a rolling basis, in the workplace and at our training centres in the north Midlands.

Email our training centres in the north Midlands about our work-focused training programme.

 

Skill Build

Our 13-week Skill Build programme, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, is for eligible job seekers aged 16 and 17, seeking work experience and a career in the health and social care or children's care, learning and development sectors. You can gain six level 2 key skill awards: application of number, communication skills, information and communication technology, problem solving, working with others, and improving own learning.

You receive an introduction to your chosen career through a work placement taster and training both at our centre and in the workplace.

The programme enables you to gain life skills and work ethics, and supports you towards getting a job by helping you to write a CV, develop job search skills and get a relevant reference.

We deliver our 13-week Skill Build programme on a rolling basis, in the workplace and at our training centre in Ebbw Vale in Wales.

Email our training centre in Ebbw Vale about our Skill Build programme.

 

WorkWise

WorkWise is delivered in St Helens as a locally funded employability programme for job seekers aged 50 and over.

As a participant in the programme, you gain information, advice and guidance to help you make informed choices about work and training, and find ways to return to the labour market, self-employment, volunteering or enterprise.

A number of short courses are also available in the programme on a needs-led basis, such a CIEH (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health) basic health and safety vocational award.

We deliver our six-month WorkWise programme on a rolling basis at our training centre in St Helens.

Email our training centre in St Helens about our WorkWise programme.

More information about the courses

Useful documents

  • Download the Age UK Training booking form
  • Download the Age UK Training brochure
    Help with downloads

    Downloads

    What is a download?

    A download is a document (like a research report, a leaflet, or an application form) that can be transferred from our website to your computer. You can download a file, view it on your screen, print it, or save it to your computer.

    What is a PDF?

    PDF stands for ‘portable document format’.

    Most downloads on this website are PDFs. We use this format to ensure that the document looks the same on everyone’s computer (website pages, by contrast, appear differently depending on how people have set their computer up).

    How do I download a PDF?

    Computers use a program called Adobe Acrobat Reader to download PDFs. If you try clicking on a link to download a PDF and it doesn’t work, you will need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader onto your computer.

    How do I install Adobe Acrobat Reader?

    The process is quite straightforward and is free.

    1. Go to opens link in new window http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/
    2. Click ‘Download’.
    3. Wait for the window to offer you the option to ‘Run’, then choose this option.
    4. Click ‘Next’.
    5. Click ‘Install’
    6. Wait for the window to offer you the option to ‘Finish’, then choose this option.

    How do I change a download?

    PDFs cannot be changed. If you need to be able to type into a downloaded document (for example, if we are offering a letter template that you need to put your name on) we will provide it as a Microsoft Word document rather than a PDF. You can then download it, type into it and save it to your computer.

    How do I print or save a download?

    Downloads will open on your computer in a new browser window.

    Inside this window (below all your web browser menus), there will be a toolbar with options for you to print or save the document.

    Close the browser window to return to the Age UK website.

    Can my screen reader read PDF downloads?

    We have made every effort to make our PDFs accessible to screen readers. Here is an overview of your accessibility options available in Acrobat Reader. Please ensure that you have downloaded the latest version of Acrobat Reader from the Adobe Reader website to ensure that they are included in your version of the programme.

    You can use Adobe Reader to read a PDF out loud with the following shortcut keys:

    • Read the document: Shift +Ctrl+Y
    • Read the open page only: Shift +Ctrl+V
    • Read to the end of the document: Shift+Ctrl+B
    • Pause: Shift+Ctrl+C
    • Stop Shift+Ctrl+E

    You can also convert a PDF into a web page by following these steps:

    • Copy the URL (web address) of the document (right-click on the link and select ‘Save target as’ or ‘Copy link’).
    • Open the Adobe online conversion tool in your browser and paste the URL into the URL box.
    • Tick the HTML box on the Format option and click ‘Convert’.

    You can convert a PDF document into a text file for use with other software and hardware such as Braille printers by opening the PDF and choosing ‘Save as text’ from the File menu.

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