Scottish Government
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Helping single parents get back to work
A new child-friendly training scheme is helping single parents to gain new skills and get back into work.
The scheme offers qualifications for healthy cooking, budgeting and hygiene training, with an on-site crèche providing free child care.
The new skills help single parents back on the road to employment and benefit home life by providing economical healthy cooking ideas and skills.
The first six mums to benefit from the Dundee based scheme - supported by the Scottish Government Fairer Scotland Fund - today received their SVQ certificates from Housing and Communities Minister Alex Neil.
Mr Neil said:
"Raising a child single-handed is not an easy job.
"That is why it is important that when single parents want to learn new skills or get back to work, the support is there which allows them to do so.
"This project has all the right ingredients with fantastic childcare support and practical skills that can be used in the workplace, in the community and in the home."
Convener of Dundee City Council's city development committee Will Dawson said:
"Learning vocational as well as life skills is a crucial part of gaining confidence and drive to enable young single parents to get into the jobs market."
"I am pleased that this project is equipping parents with those skills and happy to see the success it is generating."
The 101 training scheme delivers the Health and Hygiene course over six weeks, with parents attending one afternoon a week. The project aims to provide training for 100 single parents every year. The project is also set to deliver a new sports course, which will give single parents the skills for community leisure leadership positions.
The Scottish Government is providing £435 million, from 2008-2011, through the Fairer Scotland Fund, to encourage community partners across Scotland to tackle poverty among vulnerable groups of people.
The city of Dundee received £24.9 million of the Fairer Scotland funding from 2008-2011. Of this, the 101 project receives £110,000 over the next two years.
