Commmunity IT Academy

CITAs roots lie in training. In September 2003 we began by offering technical training to long term unemployed people from nominated areas of Newcastle.

The scheme used the ILM (Intermediate Labour Market) model, this allowed us to pay our trainees whilst we trained them.

Lewis Atkinson and Dave Nattrass started the Academy with a team of 6 trainees, who set the standard for the project, at the Lynnwood Business Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Over the next two and a half years we trained 30 people and maintained an average of over 90% success in helping them gain internationally recognised IT qualifications. More than 60% went on to full time employment and education as a result of joining the academy.

We had some major successes and still keep in contact with many of the students to this day.

The project provided a vehicle to develop other projects around the IT theme and remains the base line for the entire organisation.