YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS GIVE SOMETHING BACK
(16 December 2003)

Four young entrepreneurs who have made a great success of their two companies since graduating from the University of Luton have joined forces to put something back into the community. Tauqir Ahmed, Raza Sharif, Sohail Khan and Conrad Wilson have formed an organisation called Learn 4 Work - to give free certified computer training to disadvantaged people, setting them up to find real careers in IT.

They have just won an Unltd Award - a prize of £8,000 of National Lottery money - which will help them to put their plan into action.

The four were all brought up in Luton, educated at Challney Boys' School and graduated from the University of Luton before setting up their companies, Affordable Training and At Work Solutions, right opposite each other at the University's Innovation Centre at The Spires. After recent commercial success, they have decided to join forces to provide distance e-learning in IT that goes beyond the normal Word, Excel and web packages. Their unique approach to learning is fun and interactive - and gives people more employable skills by training them to be computer engineers.

Tauqir explained: "We have put together what we have learned in the commercial world to produce a project that supports disadvantage people, like those in the Bury Park and Dallow areas of Luton where we come from.

"What people need there are real skills for real jobs. We aim to give them employable skills by teaching them professional, certified, advanced IT skills (NVQ level 2 and 3 equivalent) free of charge. Normally students would have to pay up to £1,000 at a local college or private training centre for the same qualification, thus making it unattainable to people from poor backgrounds to acquire the necessary skills to forge a rewarding career in IT. "

"We train our students to take PCs apart and rebuild them and also work with a mini network of computers, with a certified and internationally recognised qualification. This solid foundation means they can be self-employed or they can gain valuable work experience within a company.

Learn 4 Work is already gaining interest from Dunstable College, the University of Luton, the Dallow Learning Centre, Luton Borough Council, Learning and Skills Council, Jobcentre plus Business Link and Catalyst training in Bedford. The four entrepreneurs hope that in the next couple of months, with help from the lottery money, they can firm up a pilot project that will get their training off the ground.

Click here to visit Learn 4 Work.