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The Sunrise Adult Training Centre has been serving the Cayman Islands for 37 years with its services and programmes for adults with a broad range of special needs. The Centre supports 73 clients in its day programme, and 27 clients who work in paid employment in the community. Our purpose is to educate, support and serve, promoting therapy and employment opportunities to adults with additional learning needs; to enable their empowerment and maximise their independence, potential and quality of life.
Overall impact
The Sunrise Adult Training Centre has recently been approved as a centre to deliver the City and Guilds Employability Skills accredited programme, delivered to three cohorts of clients (students). We firmly believe the Skills Builder framework will enhance the delivery of this programme to our clients, enabling them to discover their strengths, their areas for development and will furnish them with practical ways to learn, understand and know what they have to do to improve these essential and transferrable skills that everyone needs to do almost any job. The clients will be guided through the framework and have a variety of learning opportunities to help them be ready for the working world and achieve greater independence within their community here in Grand Cayman. Ultimately Employability Skills’ goal for clients is to have the skills that they need to be able to thrive, feel a sense of accomplishment and enjoy their time contributing to the workforce in the Cayman Islands. The Employability Skills department at Sunrise Adult Training Centre has enjoyed the trial of
delivering the framework through Q1-Q2 2024. Phase 1 comprised of Employability Skills using the framework and skills as a trial with three groups, all with varying learning disabilities and needs. The staff and clients’ response was positive and the progress was clear. Through Q3-Q4 2024 all staff will undertake teacher training delivered by Skills Builder, to learn about the framework and the 8 essential skills for the expanded SEND framework.
Keep it simple
Our teachers and section heads have introduced Skills Builder Partnership, the Universal Framework and the 8 essential skills to our wider staff. We have created a welcome pack that contains initial resources and visual display material for our teaching spaces. We have completed teacher training on platforms and resources and will continue to develop this next year. Our teachers use positive reinforcement to reward client effort and achievement and reinforce the importance of essential skills.
Start early, keep going
We have introduced essential skills to our Employability, Functional Life Skills and Arts and Crafts clients this year.
Measure it
This year we completed some initial reflections of our clients skill levels to determine the skill and step of our teaching plans. We have also begun to plan for a bespoke method to track individualised reflections and progression in the future.
Focus tightly
Teachers align the relevant essential skills to their content and discuss the strategies to help build these skill steps. These lessons happen regularly, at least once per week. We use ideas from the HUB platform and Universal Framework to guide the content of these lessons.
Keep practising
Our Clients have the opportunity to practise their essential skills and discuss and reflect on their use in different contexts. This facilitates their understanding of these skills at a practical and real life level.
Bring it to life
The content of many courses are practical so clients will be able to apply to real life scenarios.
Other activities that are across the whole Centre will also be linked to essential skills for example our centre plays and festivals.
What's next
The Sunrise Adult Training Centre is delighted to have a formalised partnership with the organisation Skills Builder for 2024 -2205. Phase 2 throughout Q1-Q2 2025 will involve a formal launch and delivery of the programme throughout the whole centre. All departments within the centre will be part of the wider rollout. Moving forward; Functional Life Skills (FLS) will focus on Listening/Speaking Skills and Teamwork for these skills fall within their Communication and Social Skills based programme. Employability Skills (E.S), will focus on Staying Positive and Aiming High modules, which relates to the exploration and resilience being part of the working world. Arts & Crafts, will explore how Problem Solving and Leadership skills may be embedded within their creative skill based programme. The Sunrise Adult Training Centre’s collaborative approach will greatly enhance the development of skills through generalisation.
In 2025 the Vocational Training Officers will be skilled up to use the tools within the framework to enhance their on-the-job training, i.e. clients who have difficulties at work with Problem Solving, Staying Positive, Teamwork etc. can be guided by their Vocational Officer to improve in a specific skills area.
The clients who have already gained work at a place of employment such as The Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman, Burger King, Health Services Authority, Grand Cayman Marriott Resort and YMCA, to name but a few!, need to be skilled up in the workplace. We look forward to embracing this new challenge and opportunity through a blossoming partnership with Skills Builder.
