Lambeth Council
PRESS RELEASE

LAMBETH DIRECTIONS CAN SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE

Lambeth's recently-launched Multi-lingual Careers Resource Centre is adding four new languages to its repertoire this month.

The project, funded by Lambeth Council's Life-long learning Business Support Unit and the European Social Fund to help people whose first language is not English, aims to provide translated information on education, training and employment to members of refugee/migrant communities in Lambeth and surrounding boroughs.

It was launched in January 1999 and is now firmly established at Lambeth Directions next to the Town Hall in Brixton. It provides careers information in innovative formats of information packs, videotapes and audiotapes. Languages provided so far include French, Spanish, and Arabic - with Tigray, Bengali , Somali and Albanian being added this month. Private, public and voluntary groups in Lambeth worked to get the innovative project off the ground, and through contacts with local networks these partners helped identify the main barriers faced by immigrants in the community.

This project is part of the Borough's strong commitment to widening participation by encouraging communities that had not benefited from education and training in the past, to take advantage of the national drive for raising standards, aspirations and general well being of the community.

Project Co-ordinator Joy Iruo said:
"It has attracted interest and input from five European countries and an enormous amount of support from local community groups and Lambeth College. We would also like to raise awareness among employers by promoting and emphasising the real assets, skills and experience refugees and migrants have to offer."

Lambeth's Leader, Councillor Jim Dickson, who recently paid a personal visit to the Centre, adds:
"I am delighted that our Careers Resource Centre is doing so much to ensure that no group in our community is disadvantaged by language difficulties or prevented from getting the best advice on education, training and jobs in our borough."

July 1999