Participants have praised a life-changing money management qualification at SCQF level 4 for turning their lives around.
The Money MOT course is run by Vibrant Communities within East Ayrshire Council.
Vibrant Communities aims to develop sustainable communities and reduce inequalities through prevention and early intervention.
Its Lifeskills and Inclusion team secured funding through the UK Government Levelling Up Multiply scheme to provide numeracy learning opportunities for parents, families and adults aged 16 and over who live in East Ayrshire.
A spokesperson for Vibrant Communities said: “This funding allowed us to develop a new area of work in relation to SCQF credit=rated learning opportunities for our adult learners, providing next steps to their learning journey, with the benefits of achieving a recognised qualification.”
The Money MOT awards, credit-rated by the SQA, are available at SCQF level 3, 4 and 5. The course allows learners to achieve 1 SCQF credit (per award) by undertaking 10 hours of learning and assessment.
The qualification provides support for adults to build confidence and knowledge with numeracy in everyday life, focusing on:
The spokesperson added: “Money MOT provides support in breaking down barriers to numeracy learning in real-life contexts, where adults can build on their basic arithmetic skills and application of maths through activities relevant to their personal, family, work and community lives.”
Adult learners who completed Money MOT at SCQF Level 4 said:
“[Money MOT} showed me I can do anything I can put my mind to. Showed me I can remember things and learning wasn’t ever a part of my upbringing. Books were not even in my childhood but now I’m thinking about higher education. All because of this course.”
“Before the course, I lived day to day and saved nothing. Saving didn’t even come into my mind as I didn’t think it was possible for someone like me to save and I just lived day to day, but now I plan for my future and budget out my month and I am even able to save a little each month.”
“All of us have shoplifted in the past to feed our addictions or to just eat. Now we are in recovery and with the practical knowledge the course has given us, which has helped us to budget our money better each month, there will be no reason for us to be in that situation ever again. This sets us apart from some of our family members or peers.”
“I only joined the course to pass the time and to have something to do, but I found it so interesting and ended up staying for the duration of the course, even though I didn’t intend to. This course has encouraged me to do other courses, but to also encourage those in the same lifestyle as myself to participate in classes in the future.”
Vibrant Communities works “with and for” local communities rather than “doing to” them.
It supports people to acquire the knowledge, skills and confidence necessary for them to play an active and productive role in their personal, community, family and working lives.
The team takes an asset-based approach to learning, which recognises people’s unique personal experiences and builds on their strengths, talents and aspirations.
Participants are supported to achieve positive outcomes through earning experiences, which develop their literacies and learning skills for life, learning and work.
For more information on Vibrant Communities, visit Vibrant Communities · East Ayrshire Council (east-ayrshire.gov.uk)
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