Get trained – at no cost

AN educational consortium that includes Huntingdonshire Regional College has won backing from the European Social Fund to provide free training for employees of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The Forward Skills Consortium, comprising the four further education colleges in Cambridgeshire, has been awarded an 18-month contract, worth more than £800,000, that will enable local companies to access FREE level 3 training for employees across a range of industries.

The Stepping Forward project gives employees in local small to medium sized companies the opportunity to train for recognised qualifications in a wide range of professions, including management, construction, logistics, health and social care, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, engineering and land-based studies. The qualifications are work-related and competence-based and can be mainly completed in the workplace, causing minimum disruption to the employer.

"These qualifications would normally cost between £1,000 and £1,500 but the funding enables us to offer these qualifications free of charge to anyone under 25 or anyone who hasn't got a previous level 2 qualification and at a very low price of £150 to anyone else," explained Nadine Larrington, Stepping Forward project manager.

INFORMATION: The training is available to individuals who work or live in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough areas and who are employed by SMEs in the private sector.

The Forward Skills Consortium was formed last year to amalgamate the delivery of employer-led training by the four further education colleges in Cambridgeshire; Huntingdonshire Regional College, Cambridge Regional College, the College of West Anglia and Peterborough Regional College.

Contact Lara Jodin, Cambridge Regional College marketing manager, on 01223 532225 or e-mail ljodin@camre.ac.uk.