Co-op College reopens its skills project for youth with disabilities in Oldham

‘Young people have been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19 and that they need support now more than ever’

A radical online youth project from the Co-operative College is returning to Oldham, boosting skills and opportunity for young with learning difficulties, disabilities and autism.

The Co-operative (ad)Venture project is run by the College and delivered in partnership with Keyring.

Funded through the Workers Educational Authority (WEA) ESFCommunity Grants 2019 – 2021 scheme, the project will get under way on 12 January, running once a week for eight weeks.

Building on the success of the first cohort, the free initiative encourages all participants – who are aged 16-30 – to explore the issues that matter to them, helping them to work together as a group and boosting their future employment opportunities.

Each week, fun, interactive online activities strengthen a range of skills including teamwork and problem solving, while there’s also a focus on connecting participants with a range of local businesses.

Daniel Cox, UK project development manager, said, “We’re really excited to be returning toOldham to host a virtual drop in session ahead of the project officially starting in January. We know that young people have been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19 and that they need support now more than ever, so to be able to run these sessions online is a huge boost.”

Tracey Lloyd, support manager at Keyring ,said, “I feel honoured to work alongside the Cooperative College and the young people on such a fabulous, fun project. We were all a little bit nervous at the start as it was a new experience for us all, running the project virtually.

“I am looking forward to starting again in January 2021.”

More information about the project, including details of how to register for the drop-in session, is available here.