A group of Central Coast Home in Place tenants and other community members are now much handier around their homes after completing a new pilot training program.
Leading training company Zeal Futures delivered the ‘handyman series’ program at The Meeting Place, Home in Place’s community hub in Tumbi Umbi.
The 12 participants were mostly women, ranging in age from 18 to their late 60s. They completed four sessions over two weeks. Week one covered indoor maintenance including changing tap washers, plasterboard repair and basic woodworking. Week two focused on outdoor maintenance including common car maintenance and maintaining lawn care equipment. On the final day, they built an outdoor table for use at The Meeting Place.
Home in Place Community Participation Officer Jenene Carling said the training program is another example of the wrap around support and skills it provides tenants so they can sustain their tenancy and participate more fully in their community.
“This is the first time we have offered this type of program, and we hope to provide similar training in the future,” Ms Carling said.
“The feedback from participants was excellent. People said they loved meeting and spending time with other community members while learning new skills which will assist them in their homes”.
“They loved hearing the laughter and watching them build such a beautiful table and planter box for the community to enjoy”
“We did the training in our community hub’s newly upgraded meeting and training room. The hub is a place for tenants to come together and where government agencies and community service providers can come to meet tenants and deliver support services.”
“We have a long-standing partnership with Zeal Futures who have a reputation for delivering practical, quality training programs.”
Zeal Futures Outreach Support Officer Kate Wardrop said the response to the first program was extremely positive, acknowledging the support from the NSW Government, which funded the pilot program through the Adult and Community Education (ACE) program.
“The participants were reserved to start off with, but now they are confident and keen to tackle home projects and build more things,” Ms Wardrop said.
“We provide customised accredited and non-accredited training programs for the community which are designed to build people’s skills and confidence. These programs can be the perfect stepping stone for people to get into employment or pursue further training through apprenticeships and traineeships.”
