Durham Skills Boost

Building your learning, literacy and digital confidence

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How we help

Get back into learning with Durham Skills Boost!

With our free one or two-day taster course, we can help you to gain a better understanding of your learning options, supporting you to have the confidence to pursue your goals.

Our experience tutor helps you take your first steps to build your digital skills and confidence with reading, communicating, and learning.

On completion of the course, you will receive a £25 voucher!

You may also receive up to £100 for travel or childcare costs.*

Hear from our participants

Here are some quotes shared by some of our participants on their experience with Durham Skills Boost.

"Excellent course, very well presented. Tutor very friendly and helpful."

"It was run really well and allowed great interaction during the week."

"I have really enjoyed this course, felt listened to and been helped in my next step. I am looking forward to the next step in my life thanks to Margaret and this course. so thank you Margaret I hope to see and work with you again."

"The tutor made us feel comfortable and she engaged with us on a personal level. That made me feel comfortable and made me contribute my thoughts easily without fear of being told off. I was able to achieve some goals as get pointed out to where I could find other courses and apprenticeships to further progress. Thank you for this opportunity."

Our benefits

Take your next steps into learning or getting work
Build confidence in reading, speaking and learning
Develop your digital skills
100% satisfaction of our course and tutor

Click here to book

What does the course involve?

Our friendly and supportive tutor will work with you to find out your learning goals. You will get a chance to talk about any concerns you may have and then work towards creating a personalised plan.

By the end of the course, you will better understand how improving your literacy and digital skills can help you in learning and work. We will also help you with some of the skills needed to get ready for work.

This includes:

- Understanding what a job requires and application instructions in job adverts
- Exploring common interview questions and how to answer them
- Understanding key workplace documents such as policies, procedures and payslips.

Latest course dates

Please inquire for further details.

November

20th and 21st November 9.30am to 2.30pm - The Hub, Consett
27th and 28th November 9.30am to 2.30pm - The Venue, Stanley

December

3rd December 09.30am to 4.00pm - Elvet Methodist Church, Durham
4th December 09.30am to 4.00pm - Seaham Youth & Community Centre
11th December 09.30 to 3.45pm - The Hub, Consett

January

6th and 7th January 09.30am to 2.30pm - Spennymoor YCA
13th and 16th January 9.30am to 2.30pm - The Venue, Stanley
21st and 22nd January 09.30am to 2.30pm - Belmont Community Association

February

10th and 13th February 9.30am to 2.30pm - The Venue, Stanley

About us

Our tutor, who will support you throughout the course, is Margaret. Margaret has many years of experience supporting people to get back into learning.

Durham Skills Boost is delivered by Education Development Trust in County Durham. It is supported by Durham Learn and funded through Durham County Council’s Shared Prosperity Fund by the UK Government.

Where we are based

All sessions are held face-to-face across County Durham.

Our venues are:

Alington House Community Association, Durham
Bullion Hall, Chester-le-Street
Spennymoor Youth and Community Association, Spennymoor
The Venue, Stanley

Further venues will be added soon.

Stakeholder information

Are you an employer or representative of an organisation? If yes, we would love to collaborate!

Durham Skills Boost offers many benefits for its participants, but we also welcome any chance to engage with local employers who are looking for new talent. If you are from an organisation and want to find out how we can support your participants, please get in touch by clicking the button below.

Click here to get involved

Register your interest

Eligibility Criteria

You must:

Be age 19+
Not have an English qualification at GCSE Grade 4/C, Level 2, equivalent or above
Live in County Durham and have lived in the UK for the last three years*

*Eligibility criteria apply, contact us for more details.

Click here to register your interest