Totton College Declared a Centre of Excellence!

A new Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE), funded by the Hampshire Learning and Skills Council, has just opened in the New Forest. The CoVE is a partnership between Brockenhurst College, Totton College and Farnborough College of Technology and is working closely with local employers to support the business community through a range of tailored training in advanced level computer and Internet business systems and applications.

The cove has already been hugely successful providing courses which are particularly appropriate for employees who have already gained knowledge in Information Technology at level 2 and are ready to progress to level 3. Courses include ECDL Advanced, Microsoft Advanced courses, BTEC IT Practitioners, CISCO, Learndirect Level 3 courses, AutoCAD 2002 & 2005, Mechanical Desktop & Inventor and IT Foundation Degrees.

A Staff Development Day held at Farnborough College of Technology enabled teachers involved in teaching in the new CoVE structure to express ideas and to pool resources on how they will meet the demands of their clients in September.

"The day was a great success and everyone felt that it had been a very worthwhile activity and invaluable in seeing how other colleges approach the same courses" said Julia Bateman, Employer Engagement Manager at Totton College.

The courses covered by all three colleges are well known for their expertise in IT courses for business and Totton College has recently obtained their AutoDesk Training Centre accreditation in order to increase the range of AutoCAD courses that they can offer. The college is also in the process of applying for the Microsoft IT Academy Programme to further enhance their IT offer. The CoVE status recognises the strength of the college's courses and their application to business.

Julia Bateman, Employer Engagement Manager, "We are absolutely delighted by the establishment of this partnership between a local College and well established college of technology in Hampshire. We are confident that the additional Learning and Skills Council funding will enable us to expand and grow our established employer based ICT training programmes."

To find out more, or to discuss your needs, please contact Julia Bateman at Totton College on 023 8081 2433, or by e-mail to

jbateman@totton.ac.uk