Trolley loads of learning available at Sainsbury's

Trolley loads of learning available at Sainsbury's

UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC)have formed a partnership to provide an estimated 15,000 hours of training a week to help to tackle England's information-technology (IT) skills shortage.

The £15 million venture will serve IT qualifications to shoppers by creating three new I.T.Now@Sainsbury's learning centres. Led by the LSC's national contracts service and Newbury and Reading colleges, the initiative is designed to take business-relevant courses to learners, rather than waiting for learners to come to them.

Shoppers will be able to combine their weekly shop with IT tuition, which will be available during supermarket opening hours at the in-store IT learning centres. The tuition can be followed at the student's own pace and more than 200 courses will be available. All courses will provide industry-recognised training in programmes from basic word processing to advanced courses in Web design and digital cameras.

The concept was tested at the Sainsbury's Calcot (Reading) store, where 3,000 people graduated over 22 months. The success of this project, supported by Newbury and Reading colleges, has led to the project's wider roll-out throughout England.

The three new I.T.Now@Sainsbury's learning centres will be open by March. They will be managed by local further-education colleges, Sainsbury's and the LSC. The stores selected are Oldbury (West Midlands), Camden (north London) and Woolwich (south-east London). The Sainsbury's stores and partnering colleges were chosen for LSC funding because of their location and the learning needs of the surrounding populations.

Newbury and Reading colleges, continuing to work in partnership, will provide support during the roll out and for the co-ordination of activities within the centres.

The minister for adult learning and skills, Ivan Lewis, said: "The UK has much to be proud of in its record on new technology. More and more people are now online and we have to ensure, through various innovative ways, that everyone is given the chance to acquire ICT skills. It is only in making sure this happens that we can continue to provide a world-class education and a modern,skilled workforce that will contribute to a thriving economy".

Sara Weller, Sainsbury's assistant managing director, said: "Working alongside the Learning and Skills Council enables us to reach out to local communities at the same time as offering customers the opportunity to learn more about computers. When we tested the IT learning centre in Reading, more than 1,000 people enrolled within the first six months, taking advantage of 5,000 hours of training a week. We have no doubt that the three new centres will be equally successful".

Bryan Sanderson, Learning and Skills Council chairman, said: "The LSC is pleased to be joining Sainsbury's to open doors to learners who might not have the opportunity or would otherwise be too scared to turn on a computer. The accessibility of the learning centres is key to reducing the fear factor or inconvenience involved in taking that first step".

"Adults of all ages should be able to access learning opportunities,develop their careers and make imaginative use of ICT in their businesses. To achieve this, we must bridge the gap between the computer haves and have nots– people who cannot afford access or who are too scared to take the first step towards learning."

In less than two years, self-employed roofer Colin Sims has progressed from being unable to use computers to producing sophisticated presentations. He said:"I popped in to do a bit of shopping one day and saw the advertising. I had looked at college courses before, but you have to be there at the times they run the courses. Because I run my own business, I cannot do a course at a fixed time. I would never have got as far as I have now".

"I was a bit nervous, but my first surprise was that it was only £25 for the course (European Computer Driving Licence). I used to have to pay people to use computers and if they said something couldn't be done, I just had to believe them. Now I can sit down and do a presentation on my laptop – it's wonderful, there are endless opportunities."