In May 2007 a newly refurbished and developed
learning centre, equipped with a specialized
computer room was officially opened at
Thorpton’s refuse site. Micky Adams, a ULR
who has played a particularly important role in
the development of the courses, maintains that
learning opportunities are now much more
entrenched in the local authority. When he first
sought to set up courses for front-line staff he
encountered a degree of resistance on the part
of some middle managers, citing the example
of one manager who proclaimed “why do they
need training … they know how to use a
broom.”
He now feels that managers are
considerably more supportive as a result of
having seen the benefits of training in terms of
increased confidence (manifested in individuals
being much more verbal in meetings) and
employees’ increased capacity to deal with
health and safety and other material. Micky has
received national acclaim for his role in developing
learning opportunities at Thorpton,
winning a runner-up award for Public Servant
of the year at the Guardian’s Public Service
Awards in 2006.
The communications courses are on-going for
front-line staff and have now incorporated
more health and safety and appraisal training
alongside ICT. Penny Robinson, the learning
manager cites “increased staff confidence” as
the most important outcome of the courses.
She maintains that “those who have done the
course will speak up more”
and are more likely
to become involved in local steering groups. In
her opinion, “if you give people confidence,
everything else will improve… If you don’t
have that nothing else will happen.”
She also
feels the courses have been successful in
encouraging learners to embark on further
learning. An important component of the
success of the courses, in her opinion, has been
the tutor who has worked with them since the
inception of the programmes and has been
particularly effective in putting learners “at
their ease”.
Caretakers at Thorpton Local Authority have acquired job-specific skills and knowledge through a combination of formal and informal learning. The local authority formally allocates more experienced colleagues to guide recently appointed caretakers, but the mentoring process is largely unstructured and informal.
The increasing use of report writing amongst care-takers has underlined the significance of literacy skills and has highlighted a skills deficiency in this area amongst some employees. With the exception of Abdul Nazif (described above) who made of point of practising his writing skills independently, most care-takers have employed various strategies which involve “getting by” rather than informal learning. In the specific area of literacy informal learning has not allowed for major skills gaps to be addressed. Reliance on supervisors to fill in forms, for example, does not provide opportunities for informal “Mentoring and coaching” and therefore leaves unaddressed the underlying skills deficiencies. The courses have helped some employees improve their literacy skills and has facilitated progression within the workplace. Yet the most significant outcome, highlighted by learners, the tutor and manager alike, has been an increased confidence on the part of employees which has led to development of further formal learning opportunities (through willingness to embark on further learning) as well as informal learning opportunities (through the taking on of higher level roles that also entail hands on learning).