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Looking for free training in Ashfield

If you are looking into boosting your career, you may first have to explore the skills that you need to reach your goals. You can develop these skills by accessing local training courses that are free within the Ashfield district.

Looking for Free Training courses?

Find out below the top 10 skills that local employers were looking for in their job postings in 2024.

Top 10 Specialised Skills:

  1. Auditing
  2. Warehousing
  3. Continuous Improvement Processes
  4. Mental Health
  5. Machinery
  6. Finance
  7. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
  8. Personal Care
  9. Invoicing
  10. Risk Analysis

Top 10 Common Skills:

  1. Communication
  2. Management
  3. Customer Service
  4. Detail-Oriented
  5. Teaching
  6. Sales
  7. Planning
  8. Leadership
  9. Problem Solving
  10. Organisational Skills

Free training opportunities for Ashfield residents

Ashfield Digital Skills in Local Communities programme

As part of Ashfield District Council’s allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), a new digital skills programme has been developed and is available for communities within the Ashfield district.

Academy Transformation Trust Further Education (ATTFE) College will be delivering the programme, with the aim of supporting residents to develop basic digital skills needed for day-to-day living, such as using a mobile phone, online banking, online safety, and applying for jobs online.

Ashfield Essential Skills for Life programme

As part of Ashfield District Council’s allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), a new basic and life skills programme has been developed and is available for communities within the Ashfield district.

The Futures Group will be delivering the programme, with the aim of supporting residents to acquire the basic and life skills needed for the workplace, including English, maths, information technology, confidence building, budgeting skills, and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).

Ashfield Transform your Future programme

As part of Ashfield District Council’s allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), a new programme is available to support residents that are not currently seeking work, but would like support in sharpening up their skills in order to fulfil their potential. This programme is now available for communities within the Ashfield district.

The Futures Group will be delivering the programme (with support from local voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations), with the aim of supporting residents to acquire some employability-related skills in order to prepare them to work in the future.

Enterprising Ashfield Short Courses

Enterprising Ashfield is a Towns Fund project created in partnership with Nottingham Trent University that provides free training courses to Ashfield residents living in Kirkby in Ashfield and Sutton in Ashfield.

The courses take place in person at the Summit Centre, in Kirkby in Ashfield. They are held once a week and take around 2 to 5 weeks to complete.

Here are some examples below of courses and their start dates in 2025.

  • Better Writing Skills - starts 7 April 2025
  • Carbon Management - starts 8 April 2025
  • AI for Customer Insights, Analysis, Engagement and Marketing - starts 10 April 2025
  • Confident Presentation Skills - starts 14 April 2025
  • Designated Safeguarding Officer - starts 15 April 2025
  • Product Photography using Smartphones - starts 30 April 2025

More information about how to enrol on the courses is available on Nottingham Trent University's website:

Free courses funded through the Adult Education Budget

The Adult Education Budget (AEB) is a fund that has been set up by the government to help support the delivery of education and training to people aged 19 and over. AEB funding aims to engage adults in learning and provide them with opportunities to help attain new skills and knowledge to gain employment, progress in work, or to further their education.

Local providers that deliver AEB funded courses include:

 

  • closes: 31 July 2025

Multiply

Multiply is a new government-funded programme to help adults improve their numeracy skills.

If you’re aged 19 and over and don’t have a maths GCSE at grade C (or equivalent), you can access free numeracy courses through Multiply to build your confidence with numbers and gain a qualification.

Providers that deliver the Multiply programme in Ashfield are:

Skills Bootcamps

Skills Bootcamps has free flexible courses of up to 16 weeks for people looking for a new role or job opportunity.

The fully-funded courses that are currently available in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire are:

  • Construction and the Built Environment
  • Digital Skills
  • Engineering and Manufacturing
  • Management
  • Sales, Marketing, and Procurement

Visit the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) Skills Bootcamps website and find the right course for you:

Local providers that deliver Skills Bootcamps include:

Van Elle Construction Training Centre

Van Elle has a purpose-built training facility in Kirkby in Ashfield, offering a wide range of construction training and courses to support, enhance learning and develop skills.

Van Elle can deliver training courses in the following areas:

  • Plant – CPCS, NPORS
  • Civils – NRSWA
  • Construction equipment
  • Site safety
  • Vocational qualifications
  • Bespoke training courses

Page last updated: 28 March 2025