New Funding For Training In Remote Areas

$940,000 available for trainers to set up E-learning in remote communities

The Australian Flexible Learning Network are offering three sets of grants totaling almost a million dollars this month to community-based trainers, local councils, libraries and local business.

Project Manager, Mary Hannan told Grassroots Networking Foundation, that regional and remote communities have troubles accessing training programs, “Yet e-learning is allowing people to literally learn on their doorstep.”

A previous recipient of funding was The North Qld Small Business Development Centre that used a ‘virtual classroom’ to run business skills and marketing courses for business operators in remote locations.

Through its Community Engagement Project, they will fund projects up to $40,000 each to organisations to open up education and training opportunities for regional and remote communities through e-learning.

They are also inviting applications for grants of $25,000 for organisations to set up 12 trial projects to “explore learning issues, motivation, context and appropriate technologies for young learners, learners with disabilities, and mature age workers.”

And $380,000 is offered for applicant organisations wishing to set up flexible learning or e-learning programs specifically suited for Indigenous communities.

Applicants should have in mind this funding’s objective is to:

• help community providers, educators and learners use e-learning as a tool to increase access and participation in vocational education and training
• help disadvantaged groups and use a ‘whole of community’ approach to engage them in learning, through e-learning
• make communities more aware of existing e-learning resources

Businesses who want to apply for the grants will have to show they are or have a key partner in their project which is a Registered Training Organisation.

For more information and application forms and the mid-March closing dates, visit The Australian Flexible Learning Network’s website.

What better way to make remote communities less remote with e-learning programs such as these. Now all we need is a faster and stronger broadband-internet network!