A Skills and Education Group course designed to help tackle human trafficking and modern slavery has been rated as ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ by 100% of attendees.

The Romanian Workers’ Rights project was a collaboration between the Skills and Education Group and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) and focused on increasing awareness within the Romanian community in the UK of their workers rights under UK Law and how and where to report issues they may face.

At the Romanian Cultural Institute in London on 21 September 2023, key stakeholders and participants in the project came together to celebrate the success of the course and reflect on its outcomes.

The Ambassador of Romania to the United Kingdom, Her Excellency Laura Popescu, was present at this event, as were Robert Marin, Head of the Consulate General of Romania and Minister Plenipotentiary, and Ileana Stanica, Labour and Social Affairs Attaché at the Embassy of Romania to London.

Robert opened the event with a passionate speech about his commitment to tackling modern slavery and human trafficking for Romanian nationals both in the UK and in Romania. Robert also highlighted his ongoing support for the project, which was pivotal to its success, and expressed his commitment to providing further support for the next steps of the project.

Others who attended and contributed to the event included representatives from the Home Office, the Romanian and Eastern European Hub, the GLAA, and the Skills and Education Group. Delegates from other Romanian organisations, plus facilitators and learners who took part in the project, also attended.

The content for the course was based on the pre-existing, award-winning Level 1 Award in Workers’ Rights and Labour Exploitation, which is a qualification that had already been developed by the GLAA and Skills and Education Group. The idea to adapt and extend it out to the Romanian community came as a result of a conference hosted by the Embassy and Consulate General of Romania in London in October 2022, with the course being piloted in February and March 2023.

Scott Forbes, Chief Operating Officer (Development and Delivery) at the Skills and Education Group said:

The pilot took a ‘train the trainer’ approach and was delivered to Romanian facilitators to ensure consistent and coherent delivery within Romanian communities in the UK. GLAA were also present to provide feedback on the content.

A total of 33 training courses were delivered in five weeks across London, Manchester, Birmingham and North East Lincolnshire – enabling 271 learners to successfully complete the course.

Each course consisted of five modules delivered over 3.5 hours and used a blended learning approach of face-to-face and online teaching.

At the celebration event, Jo Shirley, Senior Professional Development and Learning Manager at the Skills and Education Group, outlined key findings from the evaluation of the project. All learners rated the course materials and delivery as ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’, while 98% said they would recommend the course to others.

In addition, a panel of facilitators and learners gave positive feedback on the training course. They praised the accessibility of the course, highlighting the fact that it was delivered in the Romanian language and was tailored to the context of the learners in each training session.

Diana, a facilitator who arranged for the course to be delivered in Nottingham, said:

The event concluded with the presentation of certificates to course facilitators who had achieved the Level 1 Award in Workers’ Rights and Labour Exploitation.

Copies of the project evaluation report were also distributed at the event. This provides an overview of the project background, activity, outcomes and findings.