Learning moving online
Lairg and District Learning Centre was set up 16 years ago by a group of local people seeing a need for increased learning opportunities. It offers education, training and recreational opportunities to people of all ages from across Central Sutherland and parts of Ross-shire.
The Centre has delivered adult literacy, job club, IT classes, youth work sessions, drama workshops, language classes and acts as a venue for local groups to meet. Recreational classes are aimed at reducing social isolation, such as sewing, woodwork and upcycling. Classes such as First Aid, Food Hygiene and Alcohol Licensing are aimed towards business customers. Courses provided by the Centre are either free or subsidised. Over 4,000 learner sessions are taken up by individuals each year. The Centre also provides employment and allows for progression from volunteer roles and work placements into permanent positions.
The part-time administrator position was initially created in 2015 with a successful business case to Highland Council, who was, at the time, offering 50% funding to create employment for the long-term unemployed. The post holder had been volunteering a substantial number of hours at the Centre and proved to have a range of technical IT skills that brought tremendous value to the Centre and increased productivity of the Centre. The post initially was 21 hours per week for six months.
Since then, in addition to the office admin tasks, the post holder started teaching IT maintenance classes, offering a free IT clinic to community members, and helping people with technical IT problems such as dealing with viruses or how to speed up slow computers.
The Centre has grown over the years to offer a wider range of classes. The training prospectus, which the Administrator produces, is now published three times per year when it used to be two. The Administrator’s hours have steadily increased to 27.5 hours per week. The Administrator undertakes many essential duties, including maintaining the online diary for over 40 different courses, creating class packs, providing tutor and student support and customer service, producing posters and publicity materials that are posted on local noticeboards as well as maintaining managing social media, website, blog and maintains all of the IT equipment in the building. With the administrator's support, the Centre Manager is more able to focus on the development of new services and securing further funding.
As a result of the pandemic in early 2020, the Centre faced swift decisions about how to continue to support their learners who were so accustomed to face to face support. LLDC continued to offer services online, particularly supporting existing learners so that they can complete their courses. The Administrator was instrumental in liaising with learners to enable study from home on their own various devices and setting up all staff to work from home using laptops purchased the day before the lockdown, which had various software installed.
To help support the Administrator's post throughout this time, the Lairg and District Learning Centre successfully applied for funding from the Lairg Wind Farm Community Fund. An award of £2,500 contributed to the salary, ensuring a further year of employment and enabling learning to continue for people who find themselves at home more and can use this time in a positive, constructive way.
Centre Manager Rhionna Mackay said
“Due to Covid-19 we had to adapt and completely change the way we delivered our services. Everything we delivered was face to face, our computer network was internal with no cloud system and our student database and all feedback was paper based. Our staff team had to learn to use Zoom, Slack and Eventbrite to deliver digitally and upskill heavily in marketing, advertising, digital event management and digital literacy whilst then upskilling our tutors and then our students to be able to participate.
We moved to a cloud based system overnight, bought laptops for all staff to work from home and invested in a digital student data base as well as utilising online methods for gathering feedback. Two staff, including the Administrator who is part funded through the Lairg Wind Farm Community Fund, trained up as digital champions and will provide support for as long as necessary to people receiving devices.”
To find out more about the learning centre and services provided, visit the Lairg & District Learning Centre website.