The Portland Partnership is an ESF-funded project consisting of 9 national partners made up of a specialist college, universities, FE colleges, a consultancy firm and a software authoring company. The project came into being through the Equal initiative, and hopes to run until May 2005.

To enable Pre-Entry level learners to use ICT to help them learn more autonomously, and thus offer a more meaningful way for them to develop, practise and demonstrate their acquisition of basic/essential skills. To build on the foundations of the CTAD product Target Skills in order to produce a package of accessible ICT based materials in basic skills/essential skills for Pre-Entry level learners.

The project would require a significant focus on access and enabling solutions for learners with physical accessing problems.

The successful development of such a project would mean that any learner, irrespective of the severity of their disability and/or learning difficulty would have access to the doorway of a national framework for basic/essential/key skills, and would be encouraged to progress by the use of clearly structured and optimally accessible tools.

Learners at the Entry Level + stage can also find themselves unable to access appropriate learning materials, and as a result, are often not considered as employable. It is the aim of the project to address this too.