College Shares Knowledge with Swedish Visitors

A group of 14 social workers, counsellors, and project workers from the southern Swedish town of Bjuv, visited Doncaster College in this month.

The group is working together on a European Social Fund project targeted towards disadvantaged 16-29 year olds, who are not in education, employment or training.

One of the project managers had recently made the trip from Sweden to Doncaster as part of a separate project, and he was so impressed and inspired with the work that the college does for this group of learners that he decided to bring his new project team out to experience it for themselves.

The group met with a range of College specialists to discuss the College’s apprenticeship programmes and the College’s involvement and re-engagement of unemployed people in the areas of education, training, and work. The group found this fascinating as it differed to their own system in Sweden.

The group was impressed with Doncaster College’s Children’s university and discussed ways of incorporating a similar idea into their own system back home in Sweden they were also impressed with the College’s Looked After Children’s programme and the immense support it provides to young people

Finally the group met with some organisations from across the Doncaster Borough who work with young people. There are many social, economic, and demographic similarities between Bjuv and Doncaster, so it was especially useful for the group to learn about the services provided and see how they might be able to take away some ideas to help their own community.