14/08/2026
The Power of Partnership Working
Corinth Training C.I.C., and later, as it is now, Corinth Business and Community Training C.I.C. started with its very first community training course in April 2015 with just one tutor and a pocketful of hope…arriving at the library that Monday morning I had no idea if anyone would arrive. I was amazed and relieved when 10 willing learners came through the doors, all eager to start their own digital journey. At the end of the session, I was approached by some of the learners to ask if their friends could come along next week. A week later, there were 16 in attendance. At the end of that week, having mentioned my interest in photography, some of those present asked if I could also run a beginners photography course. The week after that, I started such a course, also filled to capacity. To this day, some of those people from that very first session are still in touch with Corinth, not because they feel they didn’t learn anything, but because we listen to each and every learner. We take on board what they share with us, what’s brought them to us, the battles they’ve fought to reach out to us often through a belief from their childhood that they are ‘no-good’, ‘stupid’, ‘thick’, or a ‘waste of time’…those negatives that stay with us throughout our lives. We nurture the possible from what they believe is the impossible…opportunity through activity.
Where am I going with this you may wonder? The strength of partnership working cannot be underestimated or oversubscribed to. For Corinth, partnership working is at the heart of what we do. From 15 years ago, working in partnership with the 3 S's; Salford City College, Salford City Council and Salford Community Libraries to today where we learn of other organisations and their work in the community, we reach out to them, invite them to meet the learners and ask them to share their service offer. A holistic approach gives a stronger and more supportive system and in so doing, can increase all manner of positive possibilities and outcomes.
A culmination of such partnership working for Corinth was the recent ‘Celebration of Learning’ we held, facilitated by Salford Community Libraries, themselves long standing and valued supporters of Corinth’s work. Our aim was to recognise and celebrate the incredible individual journey’s learners have gone through from those first steps of anxiety, uncertainty, trepidation and downright nervousness in reaching out to us to the confident and able people they didn’t believe they were. A truly humbling and inspiring experience listening to each learner share their own story, their own successes and their own disbelief in what they’ve accomplished. One learner stood up in front of those gathered and simply said, ‘this is life changing.’ If you knew that learner, you would also know that when he first reached out, never would he have joined a group of learners let alone stood up at the front of house and addressed a room full of new friends.
To conclude, partnership working has the potential to strengthen services, reduce budget limitations, improve lives, reduce stress, reduce social isolation, and increase self-belief and confidence.
Thank you to GMCA, Salford City Council, Salford City College and Salford Community Libraries as well as all the other partnership organisations and not least, community learners that have been a part of this incredible journey.
I shall end with what one of those present at the recent celebration shared…
'Dear Paul,
When I first joined Corinth in April, I had just lost my job, and my confidence was at a very low point.
At the time, I simply thought I was signing up for a few courses. What I didn’t realise was, I was about to start rebuilding my life. During a period where I felt I had nowhere to land, you helped create a space where I could learn, grow and slowly find my feet again.
Thank you for encouraging me to ask questions, try new things and never be afraid of making mistakes. Thank you for opening doors that I didn’t even know existed – from Photoshop and web coding to introducing me to the DIY course.
Thank you for helping me get my student card, finding extra learning materials, and always taking the time to support me, even when you had a hundred other things to do.
In just a few weeks, I explored Photoshop, web coding, Excel, databases, digital photography, and DIY. But, the most valuable thing I gained wasn’t a new skill, it was the confidence to believe that I could start again!
Thank you for believing in me before I fully believed in myself.
I was lucky enough to find a new job, but what I gained through Corinth was much more than employment. I rediscovered my curiosity, my love of learning and a sense of possibility about the future.
Thank you for being one of the people who helped me find my feet again.
With gratitude,
TS.
PS Thank you for answering that “scam call” back in April. Looking back, perhaps your phone wasn’t completely wrong. I arrived like a little virus and somehow managed to spread myself into every course in the college!'
