Current Projects

Red Kite Learning is currently running thirty two projects. A few of the latest are summarised here.

Workplace Skills for Life

Red Kite Learning has been working with Exchange Group for more than a year to deliver Skills for Life awards to employees through the government’s flagship Train to Gain programme. Recently, we have been awarded European Social Fund (ESF) contracts by the London Development Agency (LDA) and Learning & Skills Council (LSC) to deliver essential skills to employees most in need of training. Starting in September 2009, we will engage more than 700 employees, targeting industries with known skills gaps in london. The LDA/ESF project will provide contextualised, unaccredited training designed according to the job roles of the participants involved. We will aim to progress participants on to the LSC Train to Gain ESF project to deliver full accredited Skills for Life and NVQ qualifications.

These ESF awards represent a good opportunity to develop this area of work at a time when the mainstream Train to Gain budgets have been capped. It is particularly important that we can extend our offer to low skilled employees, providing an opportunity for career progression and development.

Join Up

Join Up is a partnership project between Red Kite Learning, Pinnacle, Broadway and Marigold Training, which will engage 500 beneficiaries (85% of whom must be economically inactive), providing one-to-one employment and training support to progress onto further training and work. The project will focus on adults from recognized categories of social deprivation and not eligible to participate upon an alternate mandatory employment provision. The project has been specifically designed to be flexible in terms of delivery locations and duration. The project activities will conducted in a variety of outreach locations across the target boroughs.

A better future for you and your child

Red Kite Learning has recently been commissioned by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to deliver "A Better Future For You and Your Child," a pilot employment support programme for lone parents.

Red Kite Learning is delivering the first part of the programme, an intensive two-week outreach course from children's centres in Southwark, Lambeth and Wandsworth. Creche spaces for participants' children are provided, and Red Kite Learning is paying for childcare and travel. The course covers building motivation and confidence, team-building, the financial incentives of going back to work, social benefits of working, expectations at work, and work-life balance.  Red Kite Learning is working closely with Jobcentre Plus advisors based at the children’s centres, who are providing assistance with job search activities, sourcing job vacancies and work placements.

After completing the course participants undertake a further four weeks of structured job search during which they continue to work on confidence building and job search activities.

Skills for jobs 

Red Kite Learning has recently been awarded a contract by the Learning & Skills Council (LSC) to deliver a Skills for Jobs programme for offenders in the community. The aim of Skills for Jobs funding is to support the delivery of an integrated employment and skills system in order to provide job ready candidates for local employment opportunities. 

The project will build on existing work being carried out by Red Kite Learning and our project partners, Jay Training Services and Action Acton in partnership with London Probation. The project will provide annual additional resources for 231 offenders in London to gain employment in areas with skills shortages, primarily within retail and customer services.

Numeracy at Work