Rochdale community worker teaching essential life skills

A community worker from Rochdale is taking matters in to his own hands after noticing that too many people are growing up without learning essential life skills.

James Moss
Author: Rebecca Barratt

A community worker from Rochdale is taking matters in to his own hands after noticing that too many people are growing up without learning essential life skills.

James Moss, who's based on the Falinge estate, is running a free 'What They Didn't Teach You In School' course at Hebron Pentecostal Church on Thursday evenings.

Anyone who goes on the five week course will be taught how to cook for themselves, keep themselves fit, manage their money and do simple DIY on their homes and vehicles.

It comes after research by The Sutton Trust revealed only 20 per cent of people think school helps them learn essential life skills even though 97 per cent of teachers think they are as or more important than qualifications.

James, who moved in to the community whilst working for a charity, told Hits Radio:

"The course came from me reflecting on myself ... there was a load of really useful things that no one ever taught me and I had to learn them from YouTube or something like that.

"I think there is an attitude in a community like this of making do - they've figured out how to do their plumbing a little bit because they don't have the money to pay for a plumber - so that means either we make do with something broken or we try and fix it ourselves and we maybe cause a mess of it.

"So what I've tried to do for the course is bring in professionals in different fields to teach people how to do it properly."

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