Taster Courses
Taster courses are a great way of introducing adults to learning, or for promoting learning activity and opportunities for progression. Taster courses can be run any organisation wanting to promote learning and the Adult Learners' Week regional team are keen to find out everything that is going on across London during the week in May.
There were over 600 taster courses and events run across the capital in 2009. These ranged from the more traditional ICT, dance, languages and course guidance, through to more exotic offerings such as circus skills, writing for Mills and Boon, Nordic walking, glass fusing, finding your traditional African name and using the 1911 census to research history. There were also many tasters relating to job search and work skills, perhaps reflecting the current economic climate.
ICT was the most popular type of course with over 100 events, closely followed by creative arts, health and fitness, Skills for Life, employment skills and languages. Other popular themes included digital photography, history, reading (such as book clubs and poetry), creative writing and music.
To look at a full report on activity across London in 2009, click here.
On-line Calendar & Learndirect helpline
Organisations running taster courses should register them on the Adult Learners' Week on-line calendar.
The National Learning helpline (0800 100 900) will be using this calendar to direct enquirers to locally-run tasters, so if your information is not there, learners using this nationally advertised number won't know what you are doing! If you have any problems with registering your courses, please contact your Regional Co-ordinator Amanda Pavon-Lopez on 07812 159 689. This online calendar operates throughout the year, not just for Adult Learners' Week.
Plan and Deliver a Taster - The Taster Toolkit
If you work in the community and want some additional support, then look at the workshop that was developed by the
Central London Learning Partnership
and South London Learning Partnership
along with the Adult Learners' Week Plus Project. This is a highly interactive and informative workshop around taster courses. Click on the link the download a training toolkit on how to
plan and deliver a good quality vocational taster course.
Promotion Materials & Resources
Forms to order promotional materials and also downloadable resources that can be amended to contain individualised event information are available - please click here. This will help you with your marketing, as there are templates for leaflets, posters etc available which you can order in hard copy or download and add in personal information about your events!
Back by popular demand is the "Event in a Box" to help you make your event for up to 50 people a success. Costing just £45, the box contains a banner, posters, postcards, bookmarks, scratchcards, pens, balloons, 10 Quick Read books, a planning guide toolkit DVD, template evaluation forms and press releases, creative ideas and learning activity sheets. For an additional £5 you can also get a special Cultural Diversity Weekend resource pack.
Research from previous years demonstrates that over two-thirds of adults participating in tasters said the activity had prompted them to take action, and of these 50% went on to enrol in courses and 9% found employment.
Taster courses work, so do start thinking about them now!