Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage has marked the start of Adult Learners' Week by visiting the 'Out There' project at the Nimrod Community Centre.
The 'Out There' project is funded by Hampshire Learning in collaboration with St Vincent College and provides courses for those wanting to extend their basic skills. Courses on offer include Basic Keyboard and Internet Skills, Buying and Selling on eBay and Introduction to Microsoft Word.
Adult Learners' Week is a celebration of the transformational power of lifelong learning and runs from 14-20th June.
Commenting on her visit, Caroline said:
"Learning doesn't need to end when we leave school which is why initiatives such as the 'Out There' project play such an invaluable role in offering adults a chance to boost their basic skill set.
I am incredibly proud of what has been achieved by the 'Out There' project; between 2012 and 2013 it attracted 2427 hard to reach learners and has even been used as a case study of excellence on the EU stage. It's friendly and informal environment has helped numerous adults in the Gosport area to break down the barriers which previously discouraged them from engaging in education."
Caroline is a passionate campaigner on the matter of basic skills. Last year, she held a landmark debate in the House of Commons on the importance of literacy & numeracy and more recently she helped to secure a Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee inquiry into the problems of weak skills and how the Government could tackle them.