Cisco Courses Available At The Melin Academy, Supported By Communities First

Communities First has been supporting a key project that aims to improve digital skills throughout Torfaen. The IT Essentials course, by Cisco, is available through the Melin Academy in Blaenavon. Not only will the training provide high-level digital skills and will help learners compete for well paid jobs, Communities First and Melin Homes are also aiming to address the skills gap in IT sector in South Wales. IT Essentials has been the first course on offer but there will be a number others in the near future, such as Linux Essentials and Cybersecurity. The Melin Academy is located in Blaenavon on Ivor Street – behind the Cooperative store. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Gareth Davies from Communities First said “The upcoming Cardiff Capital Region City Deal, has identified improving transport and skills as a key driver to increase GVA in former areas of industrial decline and with a focus on innovation and high tech. With this in mind, we are pleased to support Melin Homes in being forward thinking in supporting such a facility in Blaenavon.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Anish Maden, the Melin Academy’s first student to pass IT Essentials, said “From the course I personally enjoyed learning about maintaining and troubleshooting computers and using packet tracer to configure a network. The different video tutorial and lab exercises were very informative and helpful.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

A current learner, Peter Brain, said “The IT Essentials course is a different IT course to anything else out there. It’s going to be super helpful for when I’m applying for jobs. It’s easily accessible as it’s online, but we’re also encouraged to join in at the Academy, so not left on your own. The internal email system is really good to get people together and get us to talk to other learners.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Louise Kingdon from Melin Homes said “It’s been hard work getting the first course off the ground and bringing this great building back to life, but now we’re in a position to really push forward with our ambitions for advanced digital skills training. None of this would have been possible without Melin and Communities First coming together in partnership”. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​