Lanarkshire’s Working and the Volunteer Centre North Lanarkshire, is offering a selection of free courses to unemployed people in North Lanarkshire who want to learn new skills.

Based within the Volunteer Centre on Main Street, Wishaw four courses are available, Sporting Chance, IT Vol, ACWA and Vocational Volunteering Venture, all of which teach a variety of different skills including leadership, IT and encourage personal development through voluntary and vocational activity.

Courses are free and are available to any person currently out of work in the North Lanarkshire area. The courses begin in August and run over 12 weeks.

Something a little bit different is offered through Sporting Chance, a course designed for young adults aged 16 to 24 interested in breaking into sports coaching.

This fun and involving course, teaches fundamental communication and leadership skills and results in a qualification in Sports Leadership, as well as allowing participants the chance to embark on a volunteering placement as part of the course.

For those who want to become more computer literate, there is IT Vol. This easy and flexible course has places for 72 individuals and has been designed to help develop basic computer skills.

The Vocational Volunteering Venture offers participants the opportunity to get a taster of various vocational skills, including retail, DIY and group skills. It is perfect for people who are lacking in confidence and who want to get back into work but feel they don’t know how.

The final course is the Active Citizens Work Access project which gives a broad understanding of local and national government and how it works. It facilitates discussions about how people fit into society and helps participants to understand their rights and responsibilities as citizens.

Lynn Gow, engagement officer for Lanarkshire’s Working, said:

“The Volunteer Centre houses a great deal of informative and helpful courses for the people of North Lanarkshire to get involved in.

“The mix of voluntary work and vocational activity provided by these courses helps by provide training, but will also help to create a positive attitude and generate key skills for those looking to get back into work.”

For further information or to book a place at one of the courses please contact Volunteer Centre North Lanarkshire on 01698 358866