Two new members of staff are all set to develop The Guernsey Institute College’s teaching activity within the local community.
Vicky Farish and Tonia Meakin joined The Guernsey Institute (TGI) College team last term and have since been developing connections within the community to be able to offer programmes delivering free training to build key skills in literacy, numeracy and IT.
Vicky, who previously worked within HR for the States of Guernsey, is responsible for the literacy and numeracy programmes. Weekly sessions are currently running at Bright Beginnings where young mums can improve their knowledge and skills in these key areas with the support of an on-site crèche. A similar programme is also running at the Kindred Centre.
Tonia will be launching the digital skills programme in early February with two six-week courses on Tuesday evenings or Thursday mornings. These beginners’ programmes aim to develop skills to enhance employment prospects, facilitate a career change or just to build confidence in using technology. Tonia, who previously worked as a Digital Trainer at Resolution IT has worked in IT for over 20 years and has experience teaching digital skills from the early versions of Windows, Word and Excel. She is passionate about helping people with their digital skills to enhance their lives and work prospects.
Jane Fears, Business Development Director for TGI College said: “For some people the thought of going back to the classroom can be a daunting prospect. Our outreach programme in English and maths means that learners are in a familiar environment with on-site childcare support. Equally, people can be frightened of using technology. Our digital skills course aims to dispel those fears and develop key skills to help people returning to work, or who are looking for a career change or who just want to use technology more effectively in their day-to-day lives.
“Education and life-long learning is available to all and through our community programme we hope to reach new people who otherwise may not have considered attending a course. I am delighted to have Vicky and Tonia on our team and I am sure that their contribution will be a valuable enhancement to our existing curriculum delivery.”
Pictured: Left to right: Vicky Farish, Tonia Meakin
