Glynneath Training Centre
The Welsh winner of the Enterprising Britain 2006 competition was the Glynneath Training Centre (GTC).
GTC was recognised for its success as an emerging Social Enterprise in the Neath Valley. The GTC has changed the lives of hundreds of local people by providing them with low-cost, high quality education and training for all adult members of the community. Its schemes, courses and, most of all, support has greatly contributed to the much-needed regeneration of the valley.
After the Miners Strike in 1985, Neath Valley struggled with unemployment. The area experienced mass redundancy and employment prospects were bleak. It was obvious that something had to be done to bring life back to Neath Valley.
Pauline Morgan and Jan McCallum set up GTC in 1985 with the aim of improving people's employment prospects and quality of life, as a non-profit making organisation with charitable status. It provides an easily accessible facility that offers virtually everything from opportunities to improve basic Maths and English to volunteering and employment prospects.
Setting up the centre was not an easy task. Initially, Pauline and Jan were the only members of staff and only ran a few classes. There were no inside toilets, a leaking roof and the project was being run by two former housewives who had no experience or idea how to develop a project into a sustainable business. However, despite all the hurdles they faced, Pauline and Jan were determined to make the project work. The community was also eager for the project to succeed and managed to raise £30,000 to renovate the building.
Since it began, GTC has grown from strength to strength and now offers a full range of subjects at all levels and has its own examination status. It offers everything from basic IT to part time degrees; it caters for the local community and is committed to meeting its demands. Over 600 people enrol each year and many gain employment as a result of the training centre. In the last year alone the Centre's services and facilities have been accessed by over 17,000 people. Moreover, the Centre employs over 15 members of staff and over 35 part time tutors who all rely on the centre for work, making it a significant employer in the area.
The Centre offers a range of office services, Educational Advice and Guidance, debt and legal advice and a comprehensive Social Programme. It also offers volunteering opportunities and all staff take part in an on-going personal development programme, in order to ensure they provide a quality service. The Centre is proving to be a good model, which is capable of replication in other parts of the country, and now runs two outreach satellite centres in neighbouring villages. Moreover, the Centre has attracted nearly £2 million into the community via various grant funding.
The whole Centre has been renovated, demonstrating its dedication to changing lives and regenerating the community. It has its own nursery, which provides high quality affordable childcare facilities in order to increase participation in both training opportunities and the workplace. It also has a Healthy Eating Cyber Café with its own allotments that provide organically grown produce for the café. Both the nursery and the café have added a new dimension to the centre, making it easier to access and helping more members of the community to improve their skills.
Pauline Morgan, Manager of Glynneath Training Centre, sums it up best: "Our success in the Enterprising Britain 2006 competition reflects our achievements encouraging Social Enterprise over the past nineteen years. The increase in entrepreneurial activity is living proof of the quality, support and encouragement that the Centre provides to the people of Neath Valley. We're delighted to have been chosen as the Welsh winner."
Andrew Davies, Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks, Welsh Assembly Government, said: "We are delighted to name The Glynneath Training Centre as Wales' most enterprising place. The Centre is a shining example of the Welsh entrepreneurial spirit. Wales has long been a centre of enterprise and has a rich history of entrepreneurs and endeavours such as The Glynneath Training Centre is helping us to preserve this important part of our economy and culture."