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College partnership celebrates 12,000th Train to Gain milestone in just two years!

John Denham Presents Award to Grange under Fives

Children's pre-school Grange under Fives employee Tracey Martin has become the 12,000th individual to sign-up to Train to Gain, as the Eastleigh College partnership of 40 providers mark its second year of helping boost the South-East's skills.

John Denham MP joined Eastleigh College and its partners in presenting the milestone award to Tracey Martin of Grange under Fives pre-school, who is currently undertaking an NVQ level 2 in Children's Care, Learning and Development, through the partnership.

Andrea Connolly, Nursery Supervisor of Grange under Fives Preschool, based in Hedge End, Southampton said:

"We are delighted to receive recognition of employing the 12,000th Train to Gain candidate.

"The Train to Gain scheme has enabled three of our staff to study for their NVQ 2 in Children's care, learning and development, now every member of our staff will be qualified to at least level 2, of which we are immensely proud.

"This will enable us to offer a higher standard of care and support to all our children and their families through the Early Years Foundation Stage."

Skills Secretary John Denham said:

"I would like to congratulate Eastleigh College on reaching today's milestone. It's a testament to how well they work with local businesses and responds to their needs. Employers who invest in the skills of their workforce are best placed to respond to the current economic challenges, and take advantage of the upturn when it comes."

"Now more than ever, colleges need to work closely with employers to ensure they are getting the best from their staff by taking advantage of the range of training and funding opportunities available through Train to Gain. We're making Train to Gain more flexible to help small and medium-sized businesses, and making them top priority for Train to Gain funds, including the £350m growth over the next two years."

The Eastleigh College led partnership offers advice, support, and high quality Train to Gain funded training routes to all sizes of organisations across a wide range of industry sectors. The partnership provides flexible and tailored delivery of qualifications, helping employers to increase the skills of their workforce, improve business performance and boost competitiveness.

As of January 2009, small or medium sized private sector enterprises can benefit from a new package of support that has been introduced by the Government to aid businesses prosper during tougher economic times.

For more information please call the Eastleigh College Workforce Business Development Team on 023 8091 1195.

Release date 24/01/2009

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