Celebrating the gift of learning is the aim of UCOL’s upcoming Adult Learners Week/He Tangata Mātauranga events to be held across Palmerston North, Wairarapa and Whanganui.
Adult Learners Week (September 5th – 11th) celebrates all adult learning whether it is upskilling for a better job, preparing for further study, improving life skills or having fun. It is supported by the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO and incorporates International Literacy Day on September 8.
UCOL Transition Manager Jaime Court says UCOL will be taking a family approach to recognising Adult Learners Week 2016, offering workshops, food, activities and competitions to its communities.
“While Adult Learners Week is very much about celebrating Adult Learning Success, we are celebrating education success at all stages of life. We are keen to remove the barriers around pursuing education - everyone has the ability to learn something and so we are inviting members of the community along with their friends and whānau to visit us on campus and try their hand at something new with us.”
In Whanganui and Palmerston North, there will be action-packed events on campus with workshops from 4pm – 7.30pm on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th September respectively. Whanganui campus workshops will cover skills such as applying for scholarships, night and day make up, sign language, logo design, and more. The Palmerston North campus will offer tasters including coffee making, cut-throat shaving, flax weaving, trades, CV development, and hair and beauty for the workplace.
The Wairarapa campus will be celebrating all week long, with workshops on each day from Monday 5th – Friday 9th covering Beauty, Hairdressing, Construction, Music, employment skills, nutrition awareness, health vitals, automotive, and even a session on how to cook mince five ways. Full workshop details can be found on the UCOL website and members of the community can email
a.campbell@ucol.ac.nz or visit 143-159 Chapel Street, Masterton to book into a Wairarapa campus workshop.
Adult Learners Week will also see UCOL launch a suite of new free Adult Community Education (ACE) Programmes designed to help students increase their skills for life and employment.
“We have been working with community stakeholders to identify learning needs within our region and we are excited to be launching a number of community-aligned fees-free evening and weekend programmes.”
ACE Programmes on offer across UCOL’s campuses cover subjects such as CV Development, personal presentation and communication, toddler development, foundation barista skills, budgeting, study skills, cooking for life, and more.