South Hampshire College Group has been commended by Ofsted inspectors for making significant progress in all of the areas reviewed in its recent monitoring visit, including the college group’s shared vision, effective management, quality of education, and highly efficient leadership structure. 

In their first visit since the merger of Eastleigh College, Fareham College, and City College Southampton, Ofsted praised the “exceptionally smooth transition into the new college group,” which aims to provide financially strong, responsive, and ambitious Further Education to meet the evolving skills demands in the Solent region. 

Additionally, the Ofsted monitoring visit report highlighted the college group’s curriculum review and planned Centres of Excellence, which will provide investment on each of the campuses ensuring students are “operating in new industry-standard and well-resourced teaching spaces.” Encouragingly, the inspectors also recognised that the college group’s “leaders clearly communicate their plans to students,” with staff “already working together as single teams ahead of the move, enhancing their collaborative effectiveness.” 

Further acknowledgement was given to the improvements made to the quality of teaching at Southampton College, including “highly effective teaching strategies in lessons”, “clear, useful and timely feedback” and “planning learning effectively to help students increase their knowledge”. Special commendation was also given to the increased access to high-quality resources as a result of the merger, enabling students to learn in environments that replicate industry. 

The college group also received significant praise regarding its progress in improving the quality of its apprenticeship provision at Eastleigh College. It was noted that the newly appointed apprenticeship leaders “have an excellent understanding of the strengths and areas requiring development of the provision” and have made “substantial progress in making improvements.”  

In addition, the Electrical department’s mentors were applauded, with inspectors commenting; “When they assess that apprentices are ready, they allow them to perform the same process under supervision. Consequently, apprentices produce work of a high standard, as well as making a valuable contribution to their workplaces.” 

Andrew Kaye, CEO of South Hampshire College Group, was delighted with the report. He said: “This report rightly recognises the significant progress the college group has made since merger. South Hampshire College Group is very well placed to provide the highest quality education and training to meet the needs of the region. 

“Looking ahead, we are excited about our future plans for nearly £12m investment in our colleges, which will provide our students and apprentices with new, industry-standard, learning environments.” 

To view the full Ofsted monitoring visit report, please visit: https://www.shcg.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/shcg-ofsted-monitoring-visit-report.pdf

South Hampshire College Group (SHCG), comprised of Further Education colleges from Southampton, Eastleigh and Fareham, has acquired a state-of-the-art Digital Training Vesselto meet the needs of new and emerging skills in the Solent region. 

The new Digital Training Vessel (DTV) is an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) which will support an ambitious new Further Education curriculum for both SHCG’s Centre of Excellence in Engineering, Manufacturing and Advanced Skills Training (CEMAST) in Lee-on-the-Solent near Fareham, and SHCG’s specialist Marine Skills Centre located by the River Itchen, Southampton. 

USVs are popular with industry and research bodies for surveying, patrolling, and search and rescue duties, as they have many benefits including zero emissions, lower operating costs, anti-fatigue, consistent routing, and are safer. It is believed to be a first for Further Education in the UK. 

The new Digital Training Vessel USV is controlled remotely from either a shore-based mission control centre, or onboard a mothership, through digital remote operations, with optional AI (artificial intelligence) decision-aided support.  

The SHCG Digital Training Vessel will contribute to supporting learning across new and innovative maritime skills, which will help to address the sector’s skills shortage and regional social employment challenges.  

The skillsets required for USV Remote Operators combine digital, marine engineering, marine electrical, systems engineering, net zero understanding and navigational knowledge, which until recently were unavailable as a single career pathway. Through a new curriculum being rolled out this coming academic year, students from across traditionally distinct faculty areas will gain invaluable experience, knowledge, and skills to raise awareness of the maritime sector as a viable career option in which to progress.  

The acquisition of the Digital Training Vessel was secured through a funding award by the Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF), as part of the Group’s focus on pioneering the education of innovative skills and as a contributor in delivering the Solent’s Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP).  

This exciting development comes off the back of numerous innovative assets recently unveiled by SHCG and LSIP include TECH:TRUCK, a collaborative mobile educational and technological roadshow shared between seven local education providers, and SHCG’s new multi-million pound Department for Education funded Institute of Technology (IoT) at CEMAST – the only IoT nationwide that is offering a specific Higher National Certificate in Robotics and Mechatronics. 

Naomi Smith, LSIF Programme Director commented: “South Hampshire College Group is a pioneer in identifying new and emerging skill requirements. Maritime has been identified in the Solent Local Skills Improvement Plan as a key area of focus, particularly in digital skills and where traditional roles overlap with new, such as marine engineering and vessel operations.’ 

“South Hampshire College Group works with local industry leaders to ensure the skills, qualifications and progression routes provide further opportunities for our students to create better futures. In addition, providing public educational training resources such as the Digital Training Vessel is key to encouraging social mobility as it enables access to all.” 

The Digital Training Vessel project is entirely British, with the USV built by HydroSurv based in Plymouth, together with its vessel control systems, including maritime autonomy and remote-control operations, provided by Robosys Automation based in Southampton.  

The launch of the DTV was held at South Hampshire College Group’s Marine Skills Centre in Woolston, near Southampton, where maritime students and representatives from academia and industry were in attendance.  

The launch event was also an opportunity to showcase the broad range of technical skills and career pathways available within the maritime sector and was a pivotal catalyst in bringing together multidiscipline curriculum areas for students. The USV showcased its capabilities on the water, with guests experiencing remote operations firsthand. 

DTV “Trio” Collaboration Project Lead, Nigel Lee, CSO of Robosys Automation, which also provided the vessel control systems and autonomous operations for the USV said: “Today is a landmark moment for the maritime industry, as demand for trained operatives in this specialism is rapidly increasing, both across USVs and also larger vessels including uncrewed and lean-crewed ships. Having this advanced Digital Training Vessel as a Further Educational resource broadens the catchment opportunities, thus satisfying the very real skillset shortage in the maritime sector, whilst creating a consistent level of learning.” 

The event welcomed representation from the UK’s Marine Robotics Innovation Centre, Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, National Oceanography Centre, Robosys Automation, Landau Marine, South Hampshire College Group, Solent Local Skills Improvement Plan, South Coast Institute of Technology, amongst others from supporting associations and industry. 

The Digital Training Vessel will enter service in September ready for the 2024/25 academic year. 

A student at Eastleigh College, part of South Hampshire College Group, has overcome challenging learning difficulties to procure paid work through a Supported Internship Programme. 

Alfie Cole is 20 years old and first joined Eastleigh College at the age of 17 in 2020, aiming to develop his personal and professional skills to the point where he could successfully work. Alfie spent one day a week at college honing his English and maths skills, alongside specialist training for interviews and application writing. During the remainder of the week, he worked in the storage department at Winchester Hospital and became a trusted and well-loved member of the team. In his second year, he also had the opportunity to live away from home for three days a week through the Internship programme, where he learnt various life skills such as cooking, washing and cleaning. Earlier this Spring, Alfie was offered paid work for the first time as an assistant at Novotel, a four-star hotel in Southampton. Despite having been there only a month, he is already making a strong impact, as can be seen by the below review on Trip Advisor: 

“At breakfast, we were especially impressed with the staff members Alfie and Veronika. Both were friendly, kind, attentive and polite. Thank you both for a great stay and a pleasant start to the day.” 

Alfie Cole commented: “The Supported Internship has made me feel more comfortable and confident in my everyday work, and I’ve learnt many different interview techniques. At my old work, I would stand around and wait for instructions, but now I feel more able to take the initiative and pursue tasks that need to be done. My favourite part of my new job is chatting with customers and socialising with colleagues.” 

The Supported Learning Internship is a one-year programme for learners with moderate learning difficulties who are seeking paid employment in the workplace. Most time on the course is spent on a temporary unpaid work placement, in combination with a support day at the College, in which students will undergo training in English and Maths where necessary, as well as specific career skills such as CV workshops and interview training. Students will also have regular tutorials with a job coach who will help them design a reliable vocational profile. 

Alfie’s mother commented: “One of the biggest worries for parents of disabled children is how they’ll manage in the future. The positive change he’s undergone during this programme is overwhelming, he is so much more independent now – he can go to town by himself and get public transport by himself too. We are so grateful for this programme, we don’t know what we would have done without it.” 

Lorna Cantwell, Alfie’s tutor and Job Coach at Eastleigh College, said: “Myself and everyone involved are extremely proud of Alfie and commend his motivation, dedication and progression into the world of work. We wish him the very best of luck with his journey at Novotel and his future in store for him.” 

For any further information, please contact South Hampshire College Group at info@shcg.ac.uk.  

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