Stansted launching free English and Maths courses for staff and jobseekers
The new ‘Functional Skills’ courses will be available from entry level to Level 2 and are designed to improve numeracy and literacy as well as building confidence and motivation for the workplace or further learning.
Although the courses are open to anyone, they are particularly aimed at current airport employees who may not have access to other free learning opportunities, which are often restricted to active jobseekers only.
Taking place at the dedicated Airport Employment Academy at Stansted, learners will follow an individual programme, typically attending once every two weeks for a 12-week period.
The new programme will be delivered by Harlow College and builds on the academy’s suite of existing training courses aimed at helping people find employment at Stansted Airport.
There are no entry requirements, however learners will take a short assessment, so they are placed on the correct course level. Participants can progress through the levels and reaching Level 2 gives a qualification equivalent to a GCSE A*-C grade.
The announcement comes as MAG launches its CSR report for 2018, which demonstrates the ever-growing economic importance of airports to their national and regional economies. MAG’s three UK airports generated economic activity worth £7.8bn in the last year, a 10% increase year on year. In the last year alone, MAG directly supported the education of 30,654 young people, a 4.5% increase on the previous year.
Ken O’Toole, London Stansted’s CEO, said: “As Stansted continues to grow we remain committed to maximising the social and economic benefits of this growth in the most sustainable and efficient way possible for local residents, passengers, businesses and airlines.
“These fantastic new Maths and English courses are another great example of how hugely important it is to us to share the benefits of our business with the local community. This year we delivered our most successful ‘Meet the Buyers’ event to date, our on-site Employment and Skills Academy has placed 556 people into employment on-site, and we are very proud to have welcomed our 10,000th visitor to our education centre, the ‘Aerozone’.
“We have a very exciting year ahead, with our hotly anticipated on-site Stansted Airport College helping to bridge the current skills gap in STEM subjects, offering exciting career paths for local young people and providing a pipeline of future talent for the airport.
“We also remain focussed on minimising the environmental impacts that result from our operation, and despite growing passenger numbers year-on-year, we continue to do this. We have achieved Level 3+ accreditation for carbon neutrality and working in partnership with local people and employing pioneering technology, we have continued to reduce the number of people overflown by aircraft and we plan to expand this technology to other departure routes going forward.”
Commenting on the launch of the Functional Skills courses, Vesela Ivanova, Employment and Skills Manager at Stansted Airport Academy, said:
“While our existing training opportunities are aimed at jobseekers hoping to boost their skills prior to applying for roles at London Stansted, these new Functional Skills courses are available to anyone who wants to improve their literacy or numeracy.
“Staff members already working in roles across the airport, or in other employment in the region, could benefit from developing their skills and we are excited to be able to build people’s confidence in these areas which can be useful in so many aspects of day-to-day life, as well as work.”
The first Functional Skills courses at the Stansted Airport Employment and Skills Academy will begin week commencing 22nd October 2018.
For more information, email employment.academy@stanstedairport.com.
