The Learndirect centre was the second of the three units of analysis based in the Acorn centre and was situated above the entrance to the centre78. As already noted in Chapter 4, Learndirect was set up by the last Labour government to help widen participation by targeting those not currently engaged in formal learning and those likely to have few or no existing qualifications (Ufl, 2006). This was complimented with a huge advertising campaign was launched through the national media alerting people to the existence of Learndirect. According to ECOTEC (2002) Learndirect used its centres as physical spaces for customers to access ICT and the Internet.
These spaces were often placed within the most deprived areas of the country where physical access to ICT and the Internet had been designated a major barrier to crossing the digital divide. In terms of accessing the Learndirect centre at Grimethorpe, the community could use the facilities during the Acorn Centre’s opening hours, which were Monday to Friday, 9-5pm.
Although the centre demonstrated several similarities to the GEVH, there were discernible differences to be found. For instance, where you could just drop-in at the GEVH at Learndirect centre you needed to be enrolled on a course before you could use any of the equipment. Only when you had signed up were you granted access to the two suites of computers at the centre or be able to access the course online from home or work. On questioning the process of signing up further this did seem to be quite straightforward. After completing some basic forms79 the tutor would take these and assess the level of your skills. Following this the tutor would then have a chat with you about what course you wanted to do and what courses were available to you (depending on your current level). You would also be told at this point that you could learn from home or use the centre, or both. The final part of ‘signing up’ included setting a target for completion and setting up a user name and password in order to access the online content of the course. When asked if this could be viewed as a potential barrier to people living in Grimethorpe thinking about using the centre, Gwen (volunteer tutor at the Learndirect centre) replied along the lines of ‘probably, yes’; adding ‘it is very easy to sign
up and they can work from home’. Considering the research undertaken in
the community of Grimethorpe in 2002 by the Grimethorpe, Shafton and Brierley Community Partnership (GSBCP, 2002) this seemed highly unlikely, especially as a lack of physical access to ICT and the Internet had been flagged up as a key problem for the area.
This concern was mentioned in the interview with Jane (part-time tutor at the Learndirect centre) who was then asked how many people from Grimethorpe actually used the centre. Jane replied:
79 One form would contain personal details such as your name and address. Whilst another form asked you rate your own skills level in a number of things including mathematical, English, ICT, etc.
‘Now that’s very difficult to say because people might
register for a course here, do a couple of hours here, but then do the rest of the course at home’.
This seemed to evade the question, which was asked again and got the following response:
‘As far as I am aware, there are not many from Grimethorpe, there are more from the surrounding areas - Brierley, Shafton, Carlton. ’
When talking about the same matter with Gwen, she also pointed out that the
‘people that come in here don’t come from Grimethorpe’. Both members of
staff were asked why they felt this was the case but neither could give a reasonable answer. Some of the issues facing people who had no access to ICT and the Internet were discussed, including the fear a lot of people felt at using ICT equipment for the first time, and the fact that courses on offer at the Learndirect centre were not free at the point of access unless you were in receipt of certain benefits. These difficulties were understood by the members of staff. However, it was pointed out that although the staff were able to advise potential customers the rules meant they could do very little else until these people had actually signed up to a course. Once signed up customers could expect help in a number of ways. For example, from one-to-one teaching by the staff and a free-phone helpline number that operated 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week. Courses were also flexible allowing customers to study and learn in their own time, as Gwen made clear ‘we allow students to go at
their own pace, we help when needed’.
Nevertheless, this did raise the question of whether the underpinning philosophy of the Learndirect centre really understood the needs of Grimethorpe community in relation to accessing ICT and the Internet. As a centre it was very much ‘top down’ in its approach and imposed on the community as part of a government initiative to help people overcome the digital divide. The site itself was quite formal and echoed a school classroom with rows of computers down the sides of the two rooms. Similarly, regardless of flexibility, there was an emphasis on course completion which was based
on being able to claim funding from the government - something which could be considered an added pressure on staff to concentrate on helping those already enrolled. All in all, the Learndirect centre seemed to be a place that ‘might work well for middle-class professionals, but will not work for people with different life experiences’ (Hellawell, 2001, p.36).