South East England Development Agency (SEEDA)

With a growing demand for dedicated IT and call centre training facilities in the Hastings area, a new purpose-built training facility, opened by Michael Foster, MP, welcomed its first pupils in this week.

To address this demand, Hastings College has been working in partnership with the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to develop the "Smooth Operator" project. By investigating the type of skills required, the College has been able to develop bespoke training to business and industry, tackle skills shortages at regional and national level and offer a wide variety of flexible training programmes. The state of the art equipment is set to meet the ever-changing needs of the Call Centre and IT industries.

SEEDA contributed £132,000 and "in-kind" support towards the £250,000 project to design and install a state of the art training facility. The Centre enables trainers to record and monitor the conversations of the trainees, helping to identify areas where further training is required. Trainees will also benefit from assistance writing their CVs and in job searches, and local employers can rent the training suite for staff training and as additional work space.

Director of International and Business Development at Hastings College, Tim Strickland, said: "These new facilities are a major coup for Hastings. There is no other training provision in any local or regional college offering customer care skills, sales skills, problem solving skills alongside IT training and we anticipate becoming the major player in this field. In time, this will become the flagship call centre training facility."

Chief Executive of SEEDA, Anthony Dunnett said: "This fabulous partnership between ourselves, Hastings College, local employers like Hastings Direct, 1066 Enterprise and other industry advisors and equipment suppliers has resulted in a real opportunity to help people to progress from unemployment into the information technology industry. By offering this specialised training, the local people can have a new future - based in the 21st Century. SEEDA is working with its partners in the Hastings and Rother Task Force to develop a Five Point Plan. These proposals present, for the first time in the UK, a comprehensive solution to deep seated problems of deprivation using the new communications technology as the catalyst. Training facilities like these will be an integral part of helping the people of Hastings to equip themselves to make the most of these opportunities."

Michael Foster, MP said: "Call Centres offer particularly good employment opportunities for those requiring flexible hours, or with disabilities. The facility provides services for real people - people looking for employment. Hastings College already has the base and respect with businesses and the community to use Information Technology Communications to build on."