The Skills Centre opens its doors

The Edgware Town Centre Team was delighted to finally give The Skills Centre on Station Road the formal launch it deserved on Friday 20th September, joined by a number of the key local stakeholders who made its creation possible and members of the local community which will benefit from the Centre. 

The state-of-the-art facility was created with the help of local employers working alongside community groups and Barnet Council, and though the launch event took place in September, the Centre has for some time been running a variety of impactful activities to benefit the local community. This has included an eight-week Green Skills Bootcamp to provide an introduction to the construction industry with a focus on sustainability, amongst a variety of others.

At the heart of the Centre’s offer is a focus on giving local people the opportunity to gain the qualifications they need. For example, a pre-employment course with Women into Construction and the Brent Cross Town Employment Programme ran over the summer, supporting women from Barnet to enter the construction industry by offering employability training, construction-specific education and hands-on work placements. This culminated in attendees obtaining Level 1 Health and Safety training and making progress towards a number of other important qualifications.

The Skills Centre has already been to delivering benefits to the wider community too, typified by the free fashion repair workshop which have been delivered over the last few months by Fast Fashion Therapy. These provided expert advice on how to repair or alter clothing which is old, damaged, or just not living up to its potential, and in the process helped dozens of local residents to learn or develop an important skill.

Through the Skills Centre, we have seen first-hand the benefit that providing opportunities to learn and grow can have for the Edgware community. We can’t wait to see more of you using the Skills Centre, and would encourage you to drop in next time you’re on Station Road to see what it’s all about!

Pictured: Opening the doors to The Skills Centre, Director and Chief Executive Officer at Places for London Graeme Craig, The Skills Centre Managing Director Jon Howlin.