South Thames College awarded Training Quality Standard

South Thames College has been awarded the highly regarded Training and Quality Standard (TQS). Based on the internationally recognised Excellence Model, the TQS celebrates the best organisations for delivering training to employers. High quality and high impact training were seen to be delivered at South Thames. The TQS assessors commended the college’s responsiveness, flexibility and commitment to continuous improvement.

The College has a very successful Business Development Unit which specifically focuses on delivering training to over 200 employers. A range of qualifications are offered in areas such as Business, IT and Administration, Customer Service, Health and Social Care and other important employment sectors. Apprenticeships are also available in a wide number of industries including Hairdressing, Motorcycle Maintenance and new for 2010 Civil Engineering.

Sarah Horrell, Vice Principal of Marketing, Employers and Enterprise at South Thames College said of the achievement “Working towards the TQS has helped us to further refine our service which is a major benefit both to us and the employers we work with. We are delighted to have been awarded this standard and have worked hard as a team to achieve it.”

The College works with a number of satisfied employers, one being the major corporation Totaljobs. Jill O’Hara Group Client Services Manager at Totaljobs said “The course at South Thames and the skills staff gained were fantastic. The course leader was adaptable and flexible with different teams and their needs.”

South Thames College has also recently acquired the Customer First standard recognising the College’s commitment to customer care. In addition the matrix standard accreditation was awarded in February 2010 for off-site adult advice and guidance. This means that the Business Development Unit have achieved three prestigious quality awards in a seven month period.

For further information about South Thames College, please contact:
 
Jade Watson
PR and Communications Coordinator
South Thames College
Tel: 020 8918 7422
Fax: 020 8918 7342
jade.watson@south-thames.ac.uk

• In August 2009 South Thames College merged with Merton College. The college has 5 sites across South West London – Wandsworth, Merton, Tooting, Roehampton and Balham.

• Merton campus offers over 20 A Levels in subjects including the sciences, arts and humanities.

• The college caters for over 4,200 16 to 18 year olds and nearly 19,000 adults either retraining or upskilling on vocationally related courses or taking a leisure course. There are nearly 1,000 international students and 300 higher education students studying at the college. We have over 100 apprenticeships and provide training for over 200 employers.

• There are nearly 2,000 further, higher and adult education full and part-time courses available covering subjects such as business and administration; catering; construction and engineering; computing and IT; design and graphics; English; film and TV; hair and beauty; health and care; languages; mathematics and IT; media, music and performing arts; motorcycle maintenance; travel and tourism; skills for life; sports and recreation; as well as degree and professional courses in business, computing, music, healthcare, media and design. 

• The College offers a range of Higher Education courses as well as Apprenticeships in Hairdressing, Electro-technical Services, Plumbing, Hospitality, Catering, Library and Information Services, Business Administration, Civil Engineering, Health and Social Care, Childcare, IT, Security, Oral Health and Motorcycle Engineering.