Learning for Work~

The theme ‘Learning for Work’ links closely to that of Learning through technology and innovation because it has already been discussed in a previous posting how very beneficial it is for older job seekers to keep IT skills up to date. IT skills are an advantage not only for job seekers, but also show an employer if you are already in a job, that you want to keep up to date with systems and technology and can cope with new things and progress. Other useful and relevant subjects can be health and safety, or perhaps the excellent Equality and Diversity course which I did with Vision2learn.

It is also a very good idea if perhaps you did not do so well at school for any reason, to try to gain a current recognised indication of your at least basic level of skill in numeracy and literacy.

It is unusual for many people these days to think that much good advice comes from a government which is forcing older people, often with considerable health issues to remain in work, however, the link to Direct gov

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/educationandlearning/adultlearning/trainingandworkplacelearning/dg_10033137  is very helpful, with relevant information and resources whether you’re looking for a job or looking to get on in your career. Updating or gaining skills which can help to make you more employable is both beneficial and interesting at the same time ~ I am currently studying Business studies and Admin and an IT course, in order hopefully to make myself more employable.

Other helpful links and web searches~

• http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/learning-for-work
• http://learndirect.co.uk Learn Direct courses are not as widely free as they used to be due to cuts but it is still possible to get funding sometimes depending on your circumstances
• http://alison.com

            Free Online Courses & Certification

·        http://openlearn.open.ac.uk

Try over 600 free online courses from The Open University. Available from introductory to advanced level, each takes between 1 and 50 hours to study. A great way to see if the Open University is for you!!

·        http://www.vision2learn.net

The vision2learn e-learning service offers FREE online courses leading to UK-recognized qualifications. You can study online from home or work with the support of a college tutor online.

And…

**Interesting :-)  http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses

• http://oedb.org/library/beginning-online-learning/200-free-online-classes-to-learn-anything
• http://www.free-ed.net/free-ed/
• http://education-portal.com/article_directory/Free_Online_Courses_and_Education.html
• http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2012/05/09/151876426/explosion-in-free-online-classes-may-change-course-of-higher-education
• http://www.docnmail.com/
• http://www.emailcollege.co.uk/

Not all of these courses will provide official accreditation but they are especially useful if you want to try out learning again after perhaps a long gap…

photo credit: bixentro via photo pin cc