Community Education (CE - formerly CES) is making moves to become more community centric by taking grassroots classes out into the suburbs.
The programme is called Growing Together and the opportunity came about through tertiary provider Training For You.
Kristine Dickson, head of Business Development and Marketing at Training For You,
says funding came available through the Tertiary Education Commission, specifically Adults in Community Education (ACE).
"The funding is for what we would call foundation education. It's about provision for adults with community-based education that starts to address some of the foundation skills and could, one day, pathway into other learning opportunities."
Taking education out into the community is less confronting for those wishing to take part.
"Communities are safer and healthier if people are more educated and have more opportunities," says Kristine. "We have supported other community groups with the same ACE funding and we get them to deliver training." CE is now one of those groups.
"This is something that CE is now undertaking to ensure that we continue to remain relevant in Whanganui," says Community Education manager Sian MacGibbon.
"Our traditional evening classes and weekend workshops continue to be our core business - our uniqueness. However with the changing parameters in funding and the outcomes required, it's time to embrace and rise to the challenge. We can't sit back and continue the 'business as usual' attitude, we need to move with the change, and take education out into the community."
Sian says to be approached by Training for You was a real privilege, proving CE must be doing something right!
"It is wonderful to be able to collaborate with Training for You, to work with Cathy Minnell and Nadine Rayner, both former tutors with the YMCA, to be able to work with Castlecliff School, to deliver our Growing Together programme within their community. This programme is designed for wahine to have a safe place that they can go to, where we can help them to learn better life skills, where we can grow with them." She says it's about making a difference, about providing an informal learning space where people can come along and not feel as if they are going to be in a classroom environment for hours on end.
"It's about growing together - the tutors and the wahine together, where they feel empowered, and are given the skills that they might need to assist them. We want to help them with things such as form filling, healthy eating, budgeting, helping their children with their homework."