In 1994 group of local residents, already involved in community work, embarked on a major project to develop education, employment and training resources for the local community. Their idea was to bring barrier breaking services to the community which would in turn improve access to employment for local people and improve their quality of life. Out of this work the Willenhall Community Forum was born, and along with it the Willenhall Education, Employment and Training Centre began to emerge as an exciting and innovative project.

The Centre started to become a reality and the hard work of the local community was rewarded by a capital and revenue grant from the Single Regeneration Budget. This grant enabled the Forum to employ it's first worker and secure additional funding to carry out renovations on a redundant school building. This building became the Centre we know today. Major refurbishment works began in 1996 after the European Regional Development Fund and English Partnerships donated the outstanding capital required. Over £522,000 was spent on refurbishing the building which openedin July 1997.

Today the Centre prides itself on providing training facilities to enable local people to return to work, access further training or create and access different employment options. To support this work the centre has a 160 place Day Nursery and Creche facilities which are used by local service users and those who hire training and conference room facilities. The Centre supports local training activity provided by a range of other organisations and in doing this also provides a range of open access resources to the local community.

The Centre operates a flexible users centre policy around training, employment and childcare and works to achieve both the best for local residents, those supporting the needs of the local community and those who increase and provide opportunities for local people.

The Centre has been able to offer a wide range of services due to the major financial support from the following: Coventry & Warwickshire Partnerships: Coventry City Council; The Lankelly Foundation; European Social Fund and Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce. Willenhall Community Forum is dedicated to enabling local people to become more empowered about what is effecting their lives and giving equal opportunities to all.