Trial of free diplomas for potential youth workers

Vocational courses that usually cost more than £2,000 are being offered free for adults who would like to work with children and young people.

The "free access" pilot for Level 3 Diplomas would be trialled from September, the Guernsey Institute (TGI) said.

The Level 3 qualifications - broadly equivalent to A-levels or advanced apprenticeships - will be offered to adults who do not currently hold one as part of a trial.

Louise Misselke, TGI College principal, said the pilot marked a "significant investment" in the island's workforce: "For some people, cost has been the one thing standing between them and a career they'd genuinely love to pursue."

The Guernsey Institute is the largest provider of post-16 education in Guernsey.

The pilot, dubbed Free Level 3, will launch with two free courses - an Early Years Educator diploma and a Supporting Teaching and Learning diploma.

The scheme had been developed to "remove cost as a barrier to careers such as early years educators, teaching assistants and learning support assistants", the institute said.

Chris Roughsedge, project lead for the programme, said the goal was to enable access for "as many people as possible who wouldn't normally be able to access this type of training".

He said the courses had been chosen because they offer "very clear opportunities" for adults to develop skills to progress into the sector.

The programme is part of the institute's Adult Skills Strategy, which Roughsedge said would be "shaped by the evolving needs of the island's workforce and economy".

Michelle Holberry, a childcare assistant at La Petite École in St Peter Port, said she hoped the free courses would encourage more people into early years education.

"It's a lovely job and something I've always wanted to do, I wouldn't change it for the world," she added.

The courses - open to anyone resident in Guernsey or Alderney for over a year, aged 19 or over and without an existing Level 3 qualification - would combine classroom learning with placements, Roughsedge said.

If the pilot was successful, more free courses could become available, the institute said.

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