Learning

Community Learning: it’s never too late to learn

Community learning involves all forms of learning outside of initial education and training. People in Merthyr participate in a wide range of activities for a number of reasons, whether for pleasure, personal or work.

The benefits of community learning are numerous - health, employment, active citizenship, and pride, to name a few. It contributes to social justice, sustainability, combating social exclusion and making best use of resources. Not only does adult and community learning help make for more efficient workers and better-informed and more active citizens, it also contributes to personal well-being.

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council has a significant role to play in contributing to effective provision - we aim to get it right in terms of place, time, price, content, style of delivery and support. We work closely with other organisations and partners to encourage lifelong learning, to ‘unlock your potential’ and to meet the needs of learners and communities. We’re also making sure that you can progress from an introductory level to – the sky’s the limit!

Community learning offers opportunities to help get you into employment, or learn new skills in subjects such as languages, arts and crafts, outdoor activities and vocational areas including woodworking, plastering and bricklaying, retail, ceramics, and hair and beauty.

For further information please see our Community Learning Handbook

Merthyr Tydfil Community Learning Handbook (English Version)

Merthyr Tydfil Community Learning Handbook (Welsh Version)

Service providers of Adult Community Learning (ACL) within Merthyr Tydfil have been working together for some time to develop joint working practices to meet the learning needs of residents across the County Borough.  We believe it is vital that Merthyr Tydfil not only has high quality formal learning in its schools and college but also has a vibrant, high quality, learning service within the community.  Community Learning courses, which meet the needs of residents, allow local people to have the opportunity to increase their qualifications in an informal setting, learn new skills and pursue interests and help with their general well-being.

As part of this process, a group of partners have developed a draft strategy which they believe will provide a framework to inform future investments and potential developments for ACL over the next 5 years.