Leeds Met has secured £68,500 of Government funding to deliver free skills sessions to people who have been hit by the economic downturn. Free sessions are being offered in community rugby clubs in areas such as Web Design, Business, Events Management, Health and Sport, with the next sessions taking place in Keighley and Wakefield from Monday 1 to Thursday 4 February.

The Learn with Leeds Met project is one of over 213 winning projects across the country. The main project will run throughout February following the pilot sessions in December. Workshops will be delivered at eight rugby clubs across the region: Hull FC, Hull KR, York City Knights, Wakefield Wildcats, Keighley Cougars, Leeds Rhinos in Headingley, Thornhill Trojans and Featherstone Rovers.

Sally Brown, Leeds Met Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic) said: "Leeds Met is delighted to be involved in this innovative project to offer informal learning opportunities to people who might not normally encounter university learning. It's great being able to use rugby league stadia as the venues, thanks to the clubs, because this means people can study in familiar places close to home, with bite-size chances  to develop new skills."

The funding is part of a 'learning for pleasure' innovation spearheaded by the Government's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

Simultaneously, across the nation, a diverse array of informal adult learning projects are getting underway, ranging from creative music master classes for people out of work or education, learning adventures for isolated older people and reading opportunities for the over 60s. The projects, many led by partnerships between public, private and third sector organisations, will help improve mental health, physical well-being, active citizenship and community cohesion, as well as providing a stepping stone towards further learning, qualifications and employment for many people.

Kevin Brennan, Minister for Further Education, Skills and Consumer Affairs, said: "The benefits of learning for pleasure in an informal setting are wide-ranging, and they benefit the community as well as the individual. I hope that many people will develop the confidence and the local connections to take a big step towards a brighter future."

This grant is from the £20 million Transformation Fund, launched by Government to offer funding for to innovative informal adult learning projects in England. This brings to life The Learning Revolution, a White Paper presented to Parliament in March 2009. The announcement about the latest Transformation Fund grants awarded to Leeds Met and follows the award of £1 million worth of 'early bird' funding in July.

As the surge of people looking for a new job expecting to reach its annual peak, as jobseekers make good on New Year resolutions to find or change employers, hitting the headlines this week, the free skills sessions could prove to be even more popular than originally expected. To find out more about the project please contact Karli Wilkinson at Leeds Met on 07826 876637 or email Learn@leedsmet.ac.uk.