The Skills for Life department within the College offers a variety of courses to those over 16 years of age. These include:
- ESOL programmes (English for Speakers of Other Languages)
- Entry Level vocational courses, for students whose Literacy and Numeracy skills are not at the right level to get onto their preferred vocational course
- Adult Basic Skills in Literacy and Numeracy at both Level 1 and Level 2

All of these courses, once completed, can lead to a certified qualification that is widely recognised by employers.
The benefits of Skills for Life can include the following:
- Improvement in your written and spoken English
- You could achieve a recognised qualification with a certificate
- You will be able to provide better customer service in your job
- Your general Literacy/Numeracy skills should improve and so should your    confidence

Please click below on the course of interest for more information.

Course delivery:
The course for each subject covers a variety of interesting topics, many of which are work related. The lessons are often customized according to various elements of the learner. In the end, the qualification is assessed by an exam.

The length of our Skills for Life courses depend on the individuals concerned and usually last anywhere from 4 weeks to 5 months. Our staff in the Skills for Life department are also very flexible as to scheduling classes. 

Skills for Life and NVQs:
We encourage our candidates who have enrolled on an NVQ to do a Skills for Life course alongside it. This is because the Skills for Life courses integrate nicely with meeting the demands of the NVQ. Candidates can also choose to do a Skills for Life course before starting an NVQ or even after completing an NVQ. Of course, you always have the option of doing a Skills for Life course without choosing to do an NVQ.

Progression:
For those keen learners, progression up to Level 2 on the National Qualification Framework (see key further below) is available (free under the Train to Gain service). So, for example, if you have successfully completed exams in Literacy and Numeracy at Entry 3 you can then move on to study towards a Level 1 qualification in Literacy and Numeracy.

Eligibility requirements:
You can commence a Skills for Life qualification if you:
-  are over 16 years of age
-  have left compulsory full time education
-  do not already have a level 2 qualification on the National Qualification Framework

If you want to do Skills for Life under the Train to Gain service then you: 
-  must be aged 19 years or over
-  must be resident in the UK for 3 years or more
-  must be in employment or be employed as a volunteer
- do not already have a level 2 qualification on the National Qualification
   Framework.

Fees:
Skills for Life courses are offered by us to individuals at no cost under the Train to Gain service. Otherwise you are able to do Skills for Life classes privately at a moderate fee of £750 per course.