Third Age Foundation awards evening

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A centre in Hammersmith helping older people to develop their skills and self-confidence has commemorated its latest students’ achievements, as well as its own, at an awards event at the Irish Centre.

Third Age Foundation (TAF) on Glenthorne Road, which assists people aged 50 and over to study the latest IT software packages and to re-establish themselves in the job market, honoured 30 graduates with a certificate presentation ceremony on December 12 conducted by Yvonne Thompson CBE of the London Central Learning & Skills Council and Arun Batra of the London Development Agency. At the same time, TAF celebrated becoming the first voluntary organisation in West London, and one of the first 25 in the whole of the UK, to retain its Matrix Standard, the quality seal of organisations offering information, advice and guidance.

Learners at TAF are given the opportunity to study towards nationally recognised OCR qualifications in a range of computer-related subjects, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access) and New Media (Internet, email, PowerPoint, desktop publishing and PhotoShop). They also take a personal development course, featuring elements of neuro-linguistic programming, which aims to build up their self-confidence and prepare them for the challenges of the modern workplace. In addition, TAF offers clients advice about looking for jobs and starting their own business, and has helped almost 30% of its learners to progress into paid work. It first received the Matrix Standard in 2002, and passed a follow-up inspection in September this year to maintain its Matrix status.

50 year-old Gillie Lyons, from Acton, completed the beginners’ IT course at TAF two years ago, and is now office manager at the Directors’ and Producers’ Rights Society. “I’d been looking to return to work after bringing up a family, but had virtually no computer skills – I could turn a computer off and on, and that’s it,” she says. “I got a leaflet about Third Age through the door, went along and really got my confidence back: the teachers are very patient and, because you’re there with other older people, you don’t worry about making a mistake. After completing the course I temped for a while and then got my present job in office management, where I use my computer skills all the time – I’m now studying PowerPoint, too. TAF has helped me so much; I went there totally bewildered, but they helped me turn my situation around.”

Arun Batra, the LDA’s director of Equality and Diversity, says: “I’m very pleased to be able to attend this ceremony and see first-hand how Third Age Foundation is helping older people. The London Development Agency is determined to provide all minority groups with the skills and confidence they need to thrive and develop in the workplace, and to ensure that employers give them a fair and equal chance to demonstrate their value. Clearly, Third Age is doing a commendable job of advancing our cause, and demonstrating that older people can adapt to any challenge put in front of them.”

December 21, 2005