It’s such a challenging time for everyone right now, with so much uncertainty caused by COVID-19. The latest government figures show the UK’s unemployment rate rising to 4.8% in the three months to September and redundancies rising to a record high of 314,000 in the same period (Office for Na-tional Statistics). Surrey County Council’s latest CIA (County Impact Assessment) indi-cates that 75% of residents say that lockdown has impacted their mental health and wellbe-ing in some way with 16-25-year olds and those on lower incomes saying loneliness is a contributing factor.
News of a breakthrough in developing a vac-cine is hugely exciting and will bring relief to all of us that there is an end in sight. And the extension of the furlough scheme via the Job Support Scheme for six months will be wel-come to many, but not all jobs can be protect-ed, and we are likely to see unemployment continue to rise in the short term.
During the first lockdown, many people turned to online training or exercise to provide an outlet or activity. Surrey Adult Learning was one such provider that changed its working practices to be able to continue support-ing its learners throughout lock-down and social distancing.
Across the summer when centres were closed, they trialled delivery of online courses for the first time. “The feedback we had was amazing”, said Service Principal, Anu Chanda.
“80% reported that a Surrey Adult Learning course had provided them with a sense of pur-pose and achievement. About 50% said it helped boost their mood or to feel more con-nected during social distancing. We’re de-lighted we have been able to adapt our service delivery so we can continue to offer courses either through our traditional seven Adult Learning Centres or online.”
They have just launched their Spring term 2021 with a programme delivering hundreds of courses online and in classrooms from 8 January. They have rigorous measures in place at their centres to ensure social distanc-ing and they are COVID-19 secure.
Surrey Adult Learning offers a lifeline for many adults and their Passport to Wellbeing programme offers a series of creative courses to develop skills and knowledge and improve mental wellbeing for adults. Participation can help those managing mental health conditions that have a mild-moderate impact on their day to day lives, such as depression, anxiety or sleeping disorders. These free courses are separate from the main course programme and are tailored to support recovery.
Surrey Adult Learning also provides a solid response to the jobs crisis. Their courses sup-port workers to learn or upskill and be ready to face a competitive jobs market.
Anu Chanda says “Having the right skills and qualifications is more important than ever and we have introduced a new programme to sup-port job seekers. Whether you’re newly un-employed or looking at career prospects, these Skills for Work courses aim to help you ex-plore new horizons, including identifying your personal skills, CV writing, job applica-tions and interview techniques.”
They also have a range of courses covering business and accounting skills and computing and IT from beginners to advanced users.
You can find out more about all the courses on offer and enrol online on www.surreycc.gov.uk/adultlearning or call 0300 200 1044.