Bright new future for adult learning

A brand new adult learning venture is being set up in Plymouth to protect access to courses and skills development in the city for years to come.

Plymouth City Council approved plans last week to allow its Plymouth Adult and Community Learning service (PACLS) to become an independent joint venture with two key city based partners – Shekinah and YMCA Plymouth.

The proposals were put forward to protect the service which had been suffering significant financial losses due to grant reduction. Doing nothing would have rendered the service unsustainable and the high likelihood of further financial losses would have forced the Council to consider reducing the level of community learning provision delivered across Plymouth.

The new Community Joint Venture (CJV) will be called ‘On-Course South West CIC Ltd’ and will operate as a not-for-profit social enterprise.

Councillor Jon Taylor, Cabinet member for Transformation said: “Agreeing this co-operative approach has been essential to protect high quality adult learning services in Plymouth. By securing the future of PACLS through the development of this new social enterprise we are making sure learning is available to all those who need it in the city.

“I’m really pleased to see that Shekinah and the YMCA, both organisations out there on the front line, value learning for skills as much as we do and have joined with us in this exciting community joint venture.”

John Hamblin, Chief Executive of Shekinah said: “Shekinah is pleased and excited to support the formation and ongoing development of On Course South West. Shekinah has been delivering high quality education, training and employment programmes in Plymouth for the last ten years, aimed primarily at learners with multiple needs. This new venture will hopefully increase and protect adult learning within the city and enable its partners to further collaborate, share skills and resources and build on the great work undertaken to date.”

Carol Belton, Chief Executive of YMCA said: “Since 1848 YMCA Plymouth has believed that every person should be able to fulfil their potential and the formation of On Course South West is an exciting initiative and one that will support community learning opportunities for all across the City. YMCA Plymouth looks forward to working collaboratively with our partners to help realise the potential of this joint community venture.”

PACLS, Shekinah and YMCA each hold high aspirations for learners, so by forming the joint venture the new service would have more freedom to design and deliver a wider range of learning opportunities, access increased levels of external funding, while also ensuring the continuation of targeted community learning to the most vulnerable across Plymouth.

The intention is to launch ‘On-Course South West’ on the 1 April 2015.

This decision has been signed under delegated authority that is subject to call in by scrutiny.