About TWICS

What Does TWICS have to offer?

TWICS provides affordable and accessible training to enable people to overcome their barriers to learning and develop ‘community work’ skills with the opportunity to have their training accredited and gain qualifications. This allows people to not just to get engaged in their local community but to also get paid employment.

How does TWICS deliver its courses to people who need them?

TWICS has a team of committed staff, and a bank of freelance, expert trainers of the highest quality and are very experienced in their field.

TWICS has an active network and has established contacts with other groups and organisations in Southampton to facilitate learning and personal progression.

We have expertise in community arts and crafts, community development work and community development work training with an established national reputation.

What we do

At the heart of everything we do is our commitment to help people develop new skills and knowledge so they can make a positive contribution to their communities.

We achieve this by working in partnership with others in both the voluntary and statutory sectors.

What is TWICS core objective?

TWICS core objective is to provide high quality, tailor-made courses to meet the needs and interests of individuals, groups and local communities. It can deliver this training in a venue of your choice, making people feel comfortable with their surroundings.

Our principal aims are to:

  • Deliver high-quality training that is enjoyable, involves everyone and starts from people’s own experiences.
  • Offer accreditation for learning where appropriate.
  • Improve the quality of community involvement through training.
  • Provide information and advice on training and accreditation relevant to groups and individuals in their communities.
  • Support community networks.
  • Work with statutory and voluntary organisations which have an interest and involvement in training.

Meet the Team

Iane Chambers - Manager TWICS

Iane Chambers

Iane manages the TWICS staff and takes the lead in grant applications and in tendering for new work. She liaises with other organisations in the city like the Clinical Commissioning group and Southampton City Council to ensure that TWICS’ work has a strategic fit to identify priorities for Southampton.

Iane is a qualified teacher and teaches the Award in Community Development.

Maureen Tomlinson, Training Coordinator

Maureen Tomlinson

Maureen looks after our community learning contract funded through Southampton City Council.  She liaises with Southampton based organisations who are keen to take up our training offer such as Mencap, Way Ahead and Scratch.  Courses are varied and include Healthy Eating, Food Safety, Upcycling Furniture, Arts and Crafts and Committee/Trustee skills.

Barbara Hancock - Community Development Work Lead

Barbara Hancock

  • Community Development Work lead

Barbara works mainly with SO18 Big Local, supporting and liaising with the Big Local workers in their everyday work, and providing community development support to the SO18 Big Local partnership committee.  She has the responsibility for some particular areas of work, in particular liaising about decent neighbourhoods improvements in the Midanbury area, and in developing and supporting community-based cooking projects.  She enjoys the chance to get out with Jo, and Pippa, on the environmental and gardening projects that they work with.  At TWICS she has responsibility for the Community Workers Network.

Jo Proctor - Big Local Worker (Communications & Procurement Lead)

Jo Proctor

  • Big Local Worker (Communications and Procurement Lead)

Jo works with SO18 Big Local, supporting its Partnership Committee in a wide variety of ways including with their meetings, the profile for their area and the practical workaround drawing up and monitoring its Plan.

She is also responsible for the contracts that SO18 Big Local has with other organisations, and in keeping the various means that SO18 Big Local communicates up to date.

Additionally, she looks after Big Local’s Environment theme work, meaning she can often be found working with the ecologists and residents on Frog’s Copse and other green spaces in Townhill Park and Harefield.

Pippa Grey

  • Community Development Gardener

Pippa works part time (usually Mondays) as our Community Development Gardener. She is working with groups of local people across Townhill Park and Harefield to grow both attractive and edible plants in community spaces.  She’s also got skills in arts and crafts, running workshops to make Christmas Wreaths and Easter Baskets.  A new project is how large grass verges can be turned into Pollinator Hotspots and she is working to identify possible areas, and to experiment to see what kind of planting and management works best.

Beccy Gange

I’m Beccy and I am the Community Development Worker for the project ”Joining Hands – Church and Community” based at Andrew St Andrews Church

My role involves supporting and facilitating a variety of projects within the church and working with the local community to identify and address local support needs. In partnership with charity groups and the church, I contribute to the best working practice and fund-raising aspects of these projects.

Part of my responsibility is to expand, develop and support the roles of volunteers helping to deliver vital services for Andrew St Andrews mission in the community.