Local MP opens new learndirect centre in Farnham.Local MP Jeremy Hunt launched a ‘Celebration of learning’ at a new learndirect centre in Farnham last Friday. Member of Parliament for South West Surrey, Jeremy officially opened the new East Street centre and launched the ‘Celebration of learning’ campaign, which aims to introduce learndirect and encourage local people to update their skills. He met new learners at the centre, run by local learndirect operators Communiweb, and chatted with them about why they wanted to learn, and what differences they hoped it would make to their lives. He also discussed key learning and skills issues with husband and wife team Alan and Catherine Smith, Director and Managing Director at Communiweb, Tracey Ansell, Director of learndirect in the South East, and Sarah Jones, Chief Executive of Ufi – the company behind the national learndirect network. learndirect and UK online form a government-backed network supporting e-learning and e-services, aiming to further the vision of a learning society in which everyone, from whatever background, routinely expects to learn and upgrade their skills throughout life. Jeremy Hunt commented: “I was delighted to open the new learndirect centre in Farnham. learndirect offers a valuable service to residents in and around the area. Coming from an education background myself, I know first hand the quality of the courses available through learndirect. “Alan and Catherine Smith have a dedicated team ready to help any new student find the right learning direction for them. Education is something that I am passionate about and I know that this will be a wonderful asset for Farnham.”Catherine Smith explained:“As MP for Farnham, we were delighted Jeremy could come along to open the centre, add his support to our campaign and to see for himself what learndirect has to offer his constituents. We wanted to celebrate the fact that people in Farnham now have access to a whole range of flexible courses that can help them learn new skills or brush up on old ones – from literacy and numeracy to IT and business. Whether they want to get into work, get a promotion, keep their mind active or keep up with the children, learndirect can help.”The ‘Celebration of learning’ will continue at Communiweb’s Farnham centre throughout October and November, and everyone enrolling on a course will get a free voucher to encourage them to keep on learning. Tracey Ansell, Director of learndirect in the South East concluded: “Since August 2004, learndirect has helped more than 25,000 adults in the South East learn something new and change their lives for the better. Learning is key in improving not just individuals’ prospects or businesses’ prosperity, but in boosting the economic and social health of the region as a whole. There is no longer any such thing as a ‘job for life’, and people are constantly having to update their skills to keep employable and stay ahead. People in Farnham are already taking the opportunity to do just that with learndirect, and that’s certainly something worth celebrating.”Those interested in finding out more about learndirect can contact Communiweb directly on 0845 2260 259.