The need for local employment advice and training is being met with the transformation of a Newlyn shop.
The former Bowjey Stores near ‘the narrows’ along the village cliff is now being used as an outreach centre for people of all ages and will be visited by guest Andrew George MP on Thursday morning, 6 August 2009.
The shop front and back room of this Penwith Housing Association (PHA) property is at the centre of a group of Bowjey homes. “It was acquired on rent last Autumn and we began our job advice sessions there in January” said Tracy Waters, head of employment, training and development for the Penwith Community Development Trust, based at Parade Street, Penzance. “With some funding through Neighbourhood Learning in Deprived Communities (NLDC) we were able to carry out various activities that would be enjoyable and lead people into employment, to other courses or signpost them to other sources of support available locally”. Tracy added: “At the moment we provide a Job Club every Wednesday from 10.00 – 12 noon”.
“In the future we will be using the Bowjey even more because we also have funding from NLDC for six laptop computers with Internet access and six digital cameras with printers which will enable us to provide further training activities. Through the workshops that we have already run there, we are getting a feel for what people like and need. Card making and photography have been very popular. There is sufficient space for six people at each session we run at the Bowjey and to date we have had four or five people a time. This is good as it enables us to provide more personal support for those who may have particular problems to discuss or who need specific help in order to progress to formal learning.
Activities at the Bowjey are targeted towards employment and learning and they are available to anyone from age 16 upwards, however, even if people come along who do not fit this criteria we will help by signposting to other sources of support” remarked Tracy
