Haven Employees Presented with Certificates at Learners Celebration Event
29 May, 2009: A group of 20 Haven Products employees were celebrating today after their learning achievements were honoured at a certification ceremony in Haven’s Hillington facility. Over the last year, the group has been undertaking a range of courses with Adult Literacies Renfrewshire and today were presented with certificates by Councillor James McQuade, Depute Convener of the Education Policy Board for Renfrewshire Council.
Social enterprise firm, Haven Products, works in partnership with different agencies to provide a range of accredited and non-accredited courses and drop-in sessions at its onsite learning centre for staff. Adult Literacies Renfrewshire, responsible for the implementation of Renfrewshire Council’s Adult Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, has been running sessions at the centre since its doors first opened in January, 2008.
Haven Products dedicates five per cent of operational time per month for every member of its workforce to participate in learning activities. Around 80 per cent of employees have a disability.
Jackie Flynn, Learning Centre Coordinator for Haven Products, said: “The learning centre has proved to be extremely popular and has seen many successes throughout the past year and a half with staff gaining new qualifications and skills which will assist them on a daily basis and to progress in the future. Our partnership with Adult Literacies Renfrewshire has undoubtedly been a positive experience and one that has greatly benefited colleagues.”
Susan Bates, Adult Literacies Coordinator for Renfrewshire Council, said:
“Haven Products’ commitment to lifelong learning is evident in the enthusiastic response made by employees in joining the literacies sessions and in improving their literacies levels.
“The literacies project at Haven has been a huge success, setting a benchmark for similar enterprises. For their part, the workers have embraced the opportunity to achieve their learning goals, and in many cases, have gone far beyond what they would have imagined possible in learning new skills and in gaining new confidence in many aspects of their lives.
“The benefits experienced by all reflect the forward-thinking nature of Haven Products.”
Councillor James McQuade, Depute Convener of the Education Policy Board, Renfrewshire Council, said: “Renfrewshire Council is committed to improving adult literacy and numeracy, and is happy to be involved with Haven Products in the implementation of the council’s strategy. The success of this partnership is evident by today’s presentations. I am delighted to say that these projects will continue and I am confident that they will go from strength to strength.”
For more information, see www.havenproducts.co.uk or call Adult Literacies Renfrewshire 0808 144 5050.
-ENDS-
Media Contact: Laura Delaney, Tel: 0141 419 5280, Email: laura.delaney@momentumscotland.org
Notes for Editor:
Haven Products
- Haven Products is a wholly-owned subsidiary of not-for-profit organisation Momentum.
- Momentum promotes equal chances, equal choices and equal futures to more than 2,000 disabled and socially-excluded people every year throughout Scotland.
- Momentum is part of the international Rehab Group. Rehab Group in the UK delivers a range of innovative training and employment solutions and social care and community outreach services from Eastbourne to Inverness. Rehab Group in the UK incorporates Momentum Skills, Momentum Care and Haven Products in Scotland and Rehab UK, TBG Learning and The Chaseley Trust in England.
Adult Literacies Renfrewshire
Adult Literacy and Numeracy in Scotland: the national picture
- The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) undertaken in 1996 concluded that 23% of adults in Scotland may have low skills and another 30% may find their skills inadequate to meet the demands of the ‘knowledge society’ and the ‘information age’. (Source: Adult Literacy and Numeracy in Scotland (ALNIS) Report, 2001)
- This means that approximately one in five Scots have low literacies skills, impacting on their personal, family, work and community lives.
- Since 2002, successive Scottish governments have funded all local authorities in Scotland to deliver literacies learning services to adults in community, workplace and further education settings.
