ELATT was thrilled to be shortlisted for the Lord Mayor's Dragon Award Community Partnership Award for its partnership with leading tech firm Opus 2 International.

Following an introduction by volunteer brokerage, City Action, ELATT partnered with Opus 2 International to equip Londoners with the relevant digital skills to meet business demand and fill roles in the digital economy. As a specialist technology company, Opus 2 International, have worked with ELATT to update their curriculum, and provide industry briefings, employment seminars, mentoring and work placements. Over the past three years Opus 2 International staff have worked with 100 ELATT students.  26% of students from the Opus 2-led workshops, seminar and mentoring programme progressed into employment. 

From the work placement programme, 40% of students were offered full-time, paid employment with Opus 2. 

Opus 2 is now working with ELATT to provide apprenticeship opportunities for vulnerable young people, and have already taken on their first apprentice.

Congratulations to our long-term charitable partner the Bromley By Bow Centre for winning the award for their outstanding partnership with Investec.

On Wednesday 19th July we hosted another fantastic student celebration day event. The day started off with a series of workshops held by ELATT staff and our amazing volunteers from Lloyds Bank who kindly hosted two workshops; cyber security and mobile savviness. Crowdskills also hosted a workshop in entrepreneulism which interested so many of our students. We had so many other interesting workshops such as salsa dancing! We were surprised by how many students arrived to our workshops and lunch, and were as happy as them to be present during the day.

In June 2017 Anthony (ELATT, Chief Executive) was featured in TES online. Check out his inspirational thought piece now…

Community learning is the key for post-Brexit Britain

“Tes subscribers can read the full version of Anthony’s article here. For the latest news and views about the FE sector, visit www.tes.com/fenews”

Community Learning is the key for post-Brexit Britain

The work of one inner-city charity offers a blue print for bridging the skills gap and bringing society closer together, says its chief executive Anthony Harmer.
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In less than two years' time, Britain will be standing alone, outside the European Union and probably outside the single market as well. This is a good time for us to start imagining what we want our country to look like in 2018, and to begin putting the plans in place to make it happen.
From my perspective, we face two big challenges ahead. The first is how we address the national skills gap – the difference between the skills demanded by our economy and the skills already possessed by our workforce. This gap has been growing for years and it is likely to widen dramatically if fewer highly qualified people from the EU are able to plug the skills gaps in the UK workforce due to more stringent visa restrictions when Britain leaves the single market.
That will have serious implications for businesses recruiting in the UK, with a knock-on effect to the economy as a whole.
The second big challenge is how to ensure that our society continues to flourish as one of the most open, diverse and creative out there. We live in a global world and we shouldn’t allow Eurosceptism to transform into a small-minded fear of difference.
So how are we going to address those challenges? When I need inspiration, I look around me to the people living and working in my local area, Hackney in East London.
Hackney is a proudly diverse place. Two-fifths of our residents were born outside the UK; we have large African, Caribbean, Turkish and East European populations (that have been here for many generations), as well as more recent migrants from Western Europe, Australasia and the US.
The largest Haredi Jewish community in Europe lives alongside Christians, Muslims and people of no religion. Hackney residents get along well together and the main thing we’re proud of is the area’s diversity.
As a musician, I’m also inspired by the many sons and daughters of Hackney who’ve contributed to our nation’s art and culture – surely a product of our borough’s multicultural melting pot.
Of course, not everything in Hackney is perfect. It’s one of the country's most deprived areas, with distressingly high levels of child poverty, below-average employment rates and job growth concentrated in part-time and low-paid work.
Yet in my work at ELATT, a charity that has spent over 30 years tackling worklessness and poverty in the local area, I see what people of all backgrounds can achieve when we give them the tools to succeed.
Take Salma, now a market research professional who came to Hackney after being forced from her homeland by civil war. At first, Salma struggled to find work in London, so she enrolled on an English language course at ELATT. Alongside her course, she got volunteering experience, developed her employability skills and later progressed to an IT qualification. #
Now she’s working as an office administrator and looking forward to building her family’s future in London. Stories like Salma’s make me proud to work in adult education. They also make me determined to share the knowledge we’ve developed in our sector with the people who make policy decisions on a national level.
I firmly believe our experience of working with adults to develop their skills in a diverse environment is the way forward for a post-Brexit Britain.
Firstly, I’m convinced that social integration is fundamental to improving our society. Genuine community and workplace diversity combats negative stereotypes and builds social cohesion. ELATT has worked with thousands of migrants and refugees - and with their involvement and passion we have seen communities positively transform.
To do that, we need to invest in an adult skills sector that takes a holistic approach to learning. That means a sector that harnesses the variety of talents within our adult learners, one that is inter-disciplinary and multi-skilled and takes learners out of the classroom and into the workplace or community.
Skills development and social integration run side-by-side. That’s true for young people who’ve been marginalised from education, it’s true for long-term unemployed adults and it’s also true for new migrants and refugees.
Like many providers in the third sector, our model of integration includes English training, basic and vocational skills and community volunteering for adults. We believe equipping refugees and their children with a range of English, digital, technical and work skills is the best way to prepare them to participate in the UK marketplace and make us the global leader in skills and training.
And one more thing – adult learning should be fun. When Ofsted came to ELATT, it was struck by the down-to-earth humour of our teachers and learners. It’s no accident that they picked up on this. Communities are built on positivity, on laughter and on hope for the future. Now, more than ever, we should remember that.

21st of June marked National Writing Day, and students from our E3 ICT Learning Champions contributed to this fun and positive occasion.

Len, Adi and Jacqueline all wrote short stories on the themes of busy lives in London and, randomly, working as a prime minster.

Their teacher, Segs, said: "It was great to see the creativity from the students. They felt inspired by National Writing Day and came up with ideas of what their short stories could be about. It's great to see how creative writing can help literacy."

Please read the short stories here:

‘Maria lived in London 2 years ago. She loved to go to the parks, museums and beach. She was happy when visiting these places. She told me that she became unfriendly because her job was stressful. Now Maria lives in Ibiza, she has another job which it less stressful and she lives in front of the beach. She feels more comfortable, relax and happy.’
By Jacqueline

‘Bibi walked in the street and he sees every one busy and stressed. Bibi is unfriendly because he haven't got time to talk with people. He is working as the Prime Minister and he likes his job. He is married to June. He is married 10 years or more and he is happy in his life.’
By Adi

‘Steve lives in London. He lives in Hackney his job is a park cleaner. Some days he is miserable and some days happy. He works in the open. He moans about the weather, I told him today it is 34`c. That made him more miserable. He said laughing and joking to me sling your hook. The last time it was this hot was back in 1976. I told him if you don`t like heat pack up the job and get a job indoors. I laughed and joked with him and said you should get the Prime Ministers’ job.’
By Len

'I saw in the google fly cars that is new technology I like that. For future is very nice because save the time received to the place very fast that is good. The world technology is going very quick let’s see future how money changes come in the world.'
By Sharafat

Did you see Naffy (our Head of Life Skills and Community) in the recent InTuition magazine from The Education and Learning Foundation? The article is now open to everyone.

 InTuition magazine is an industry recognised publication and this is a fantastic achievement for both ELATT and Naffy.

'SET members like Nafisah Graham-Brown bring opportunity to some of the poorest and most disadvantaged people in British society.' Alan Thomson, editor of InTuition, reports.

http://bit.ly/ETFSnippet 

Have you seen our latest Impact Report yet?

We are a constantly evolving organisation helping people of all ages improve their lives. We help individuals gain skills and improve existing ones through training, mentoring and employment support. Our latest Impact Report showcases our achievements from the past year and is a great round up of all the things we are most proud of from 2015/16.

Last year we worked with 574 individuals who received over 700 qualifications with 9 out of 10 students achieving a qualification in 2015/2016.

Highlights of the report include:

• 83% of students progressed into further or higher education in 2015/2016
• 88% of our students said they had improved their workplace skills upon course completion
• 92% of our trainees aged 16-23 progressed into apprenticeships in 2015/2016

Here’s what our students said about us:

• Frankie who has now started a career as a game developer said “I don’t think I would be where I am today if ELATT hadn’t helped me take those first steps.”
• Zak who did an apprenticeship with ELATT said “My apprenticeship taught me more than I expected: I learned numerous skills that helped me both personally and professionally.”
• Ayse who has built a career in network management said “After 15 years without work, I have gone from zero to working in the city.”

2015/16 was a huge year for ELATT and we want to say a huge thank you to all our staff, students and supporters. We can't thank the ELATT learning community enough. The future can only get better!

Intrigued? Find out more in our latest Impact Report.

The theme is New Experiences

Enter either a story, poem or an article. One submission per student.

1. 1st Prize is a £50 voucher of your choice (one prize awarded per category).
2. Writing will be judged on it's originality and use of language. 600 word limit.
3. Attend Learning Champions on Thursdays (from 12.30 at Kingsland Road) for support with your piece.

This is a fantastic opportunity to show off your creative writing skills for a chance to win a £50 voucher but to also have a piece of writing on our website and social media platforms. This is also a great project to have on your CV!

We will also be hosting an awards event to announce the winners of the competition. This will allow the students and tutors to come together to celebrate the pieces you will be creating.

You must keep your work under 600 words and final work must be entered by Monday 12th June. Please attend the Learning Champions workshop on Thursdays if you need support or inspiration.

The competition is open until Monday 12th June so make sure you either hand your entries into Catherine or email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Download Competition Flyer

Good luck to everyone!

by Bayan Tuerxunbayi (Equal Voice Class)

We went to York Hall and attended an Assembly on 9th March 2017. It was a fast paced, dynamic and focused meeting, full of exciting stories and as well as inspiring hope for the future. There were many facilities for food and refreshments. There were many people who came from different organisations. We also listened to a few songs from a children’s choir of 150 singers, stories from history - Martin Luther King Jr, the Salvation Army, the matchstick girls, the dockers and music from a student orchestra. After that many people spoke about different problems as well as live public negotiation, and the setting out of TELCO’s vision for East London over the next 20 years. My friends spoke about energy bill problems. I was very happy and became more confident when my friends spoke on stage. When we finished, we took pictures and people threw balloons and confetti from the balcony. Everyone was very happy.

The promises that were made showed a sign of hope and a new beginning. It was an exciting and inspiring event that will give hope in our difficult climate. We believe East London future will be better.

What my Equal Voices classmates thought about the event:

• Kikelomo Akande: “I spoke about cheaper energy and what I have experienced. There were many other speeches. Everybody celebrated with balloons and confetti. I feel happy because I spoke confidently."
• Amina Sakhi: “What moved me the most was the presence of Syria’s family who thanked the country that embraced them. Later on ELATT students spoke about energy and its importance in our daily lives.”
• Anita Srdenovic: “Paul spoke about Bridge builders. These are not physical bridges. They are bridges of trust, bridges of justice, bridges of relational power for the common good. We took pictures and we now have more confidence speaking on stage.”
• Pankita Rajesh: “These promises were an exciting and inspiring event that will give hope in our difficult climate. We believe East London’s future will be better. I feel more confident and I am really proud to take part in the assembly and speaking in front of many people”

Skills-sharing Workshop and Networking Event hosted by LexisNexis

During early March, our students were lucky enough to hold our International Women's Day Celebration at our corporate partner LexisNexis' offices in the City of London. This gave our students a totally new experience of London and the inspirational LexisNexis staff! 

The day commenced with a series of pop-up workshops covering exciting areas such as beauty therapy, language exchange, well-being, poetry and a display of stimulating student work. 

The event showcased ELATT's ‘Equal Voices’ project and celebrated the skills that our students can teach each other and others – and much more than that!

After lunch, students interacted with Lexis Nexis specialists and discussed opportunities in fields such as marketing, IT and coding, law, and editorial and content writing.

The opportunity to mix with staff meant that students were exposed to new perspectives and views, creating a memorable day of learning and sharing. The place was buzzing and you could see that everyone involved felt really positive and energised by the atmosphere.  

A special thank you to Amy for her enthusiasm and energy throughout the planning process, helping us turn what would otherwise have been a smaller event into something really special and memorable. 

Our students told us:

‘I really liked this event, I was very happy when I met everyone and I enjoyed it.’

‘I really loved our event. It was amazing and inspiring. Students met together and did lots of interesting things. It was very good for us.’

‘It was an excellent experience for me. I did speak and learn other words from other languages. Good people, nice event!’

We hope to continue to work closely with the team and bring more popups to LexisNexis very soon!  

Trip to Buckingham Palace

From Elatt on 2 November 2016, my class and I with another class went for trip to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard.It was on Thursday last week from 10am in the morning.

We caught the train from Haggerston at platform 1, the overground toward Highbury and Islington. From Highbury and Islington to Green Park station.