The Tenant Academy team provides free support for Swindon Borough Council tenants to access local and online training opportunities. In partnership with Adult Community Learning, Whitehead Ross Education Centre and other local providers, we can help you find the right training to:
improve your life skills
support your mental health
gain new qualifications to kick-start your career
How to get started
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help, you can:
A team member will contact you to discuss your needs and next steps.
Qualifications, skills and training
Training by Adult Community Learning and Whitehead Ross Education.
A course to develop maths skills for those whose first language isn't English. Aims to improve numeracy skills and confidence in using numbers in everyday life.
Multiply courses are designed to help you feel confident with maths. If you feel anxious when thinking about numbers, or regularly say you are rubbish at maths, you are not alone.
Multiply aims to support eligible adults who want to feel more confident in maths for work or who do not currently have level two GCSE maths at grade four or above, previously known as a C grade or an O Level.
Our free courses and support will focus on practical maths skills including:
building basic numeracy skills
maths skills to help advance your career or progress at work
reducing maths anxiety and increasing confidence
work related maths skills
helping your child with maths
bitesize practical solutions to budgeting and cost saving
These courses will help learners to develop their IT skills and knowledge whilst showing you how to stay safe online. Whether you are an absolute beginner or want to improve your skills these Getting Connected courses could help you.
Location: Central Library, Regent Circus, Swindon SN1 1QG
This course covers how to get the most out of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint and is suitable for those who already have some knowledge of these packages and who would like to develop their skills further.
Delivered in a relaxed and friendly environment from our site in Swindon town centre (two minutes from main train and bus stations) this course is available for those aged 19 years and over.
This course is free for those that meet the eligibility criteria (claiming UC, JSA, ESA or classed as a low earner - please contact for further details).
Location: New College Adult Education Centre, Focal Point, Fleet Street, Swindon SN1 1RQ
This course is aimed at people who have limited cooking skills, to enable them to develop knowledge and skills to plan and create healthy and affordable homecooked food using basic cooking techniques.
Each week you will cook tasty affordable meals in a supportive environment that you will share together.
By the end of this course you will:
understand how cooking can support health and wellbeing
use your skills to cook basic, tasty, affordable meals at home
Our DIY plumbing courses are designed to equip you with the basic skills to confidently take on plumbing jobs around the house. This workshop is held in small groups so that everybody has the space to get hands-on with new practical skills, receive one-on-one support and have time for questions.
Learn how to use hand tools and power tools to gain the skills and confidence to use them for DIY. The tools used are also part of the Toolshare scheme and can be borrowed for free by local residents.
Subjects covered include:
learning how to use hand tools and power tools to gain the skills and confidence to use them for DIY purposes
introduction to DIY woodworking tools - manual and electric
Understand why, how and where houses lose heat, how heat-loss is measured and how to calculate U values (how good a material is at insulation) from basic data. Learn how to find the target insulation values, which apply when 'thermal elements' are upgraded. Understand the damp and moisture risks when insulating buildings and how to minimise them.
Loan sharks target those who could potentially be financially vulnerable. We have set up a course to help people identify what a loan shark looks like and where you can get an affordable loan from a trustworthy source.
Do you think you could spot a Loan shark? Join our free course and find out.
Learn how to manage the symptoms of dementia and support vulnerable adults in this free online caregiving course. The course provides practical expertise to help you manage the symptoms of dementia.
Topics explored include:
identifying various types of dementia and their symptoms
assessing risk factors
making accurate diagnoses
implementing effective treatment and support approaches
Learn valuable strategies and support techniques used to enhance caregiving and improve the quality of life for those living with dementia.
A one day, Level 3 course within first aid training, accessible to those with no previous experience, whilst also being a good refresher for those with expired certification.
The course is both theory and practical and covers a variety of medical emergencies and topics including:
CPR
Choking
Bleeding
Role of the first aider in the workplace and assessing incidents
The qualification is valid for three years and is widely recognised as a thorough insight into confidently applying first aid knowledge in and out of the workplace.
This online course, facilitated by Mind, will help you build confidence in how to have conversations about mental health and wellbeing and to be there for others in the community.
It won’t make you a mental health professional, but you don’t need to be a professional to be there for the people around you.
Benefits of this course include:
It’s free for anyone to do
It’s online so you can do it from anywhere
It takes about 90 minutes in total, but you can leave to take breaks and it will save your progress
It contains video examples of people talking and practice scenarios for you to try
It’s self-guided - there are no tests and no one will assess you
It’s been co-produced with people who have experience of mental health problems
We offer one-to-one support to help you build the skills and confidence needed to return to work or start your career for the first time. Our team also collaborates with training providers to find the best opportunities for you.
Our employability support includes:
CV and cover letter writing - what should be included on a CV and cover letter