New training centre opens in Kensington

The new training centre, Empreinte, has been funded by Kensington Regeneration and is run by the Congolese Association of Merseyside.

Project manager Mathieu Kapasi explained that there is a need for training in basic skills for people whose first language is not English.

“A lot of people need help to access services and we set up the Congolese Association of Merseyside to give them bilingual information and to help them integrate into the local community,” he said.

“Now, thanks to Kensington Regeneration, we have our own centre where we can give people training towards the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) and CLAIT, the Computer Literacy and Information Technology qualification.

“We called the centre Empreinte as that is French for fingerprint and we are aiming to make our mark in Liverpool.”

English language training is given at a basic level, to help pople prepare to enroll on an ESOL – English for Speakers of Other Languages – course. All training is free. A charge of £1 per hour is made to anyone who would like to use the centre for internet access only.

“We are also planning to offer training in customer care, business administration and other skills to help people find jobs,” said Mathieu.
Kensington Regeneration Board Member, Enid Bristow, said: “This centre is a great new facility for the community which will play an important role in helping people from non- English backgrounds.

“I am delighted that we have been able to support the Congolese Association of Merseyside with this initiative,” she added.