Paving the way to a brighter future

A company is celebrating after it became the first organisation in Coventry to receive ITQs under the new government initiative Train to Gain.

The sales team at Stonemarket became the first achievers of this qualification having completed the course
work over the last three months. Having identified the need to increase the skills of staff who work in the sales
department at Stonemarket, sales office manager Glynis Humphreys began the search for a suitable provider.

Glynis said: “We have a very strong relationship with Henley College Coventry, and they have been delivering other
NVQs here for some years. We also knew that the college was the local Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) for
computing and IT courses, so when it came to looking for a provider for the ITQs, Henley College Coventry became
an obvious choice.”

The sales team at Stonemarket who achieved the ITQs with Julie Craddock (second right), CoVE manager –incomputing and e-skills at Henley College Coventry, and sales office manager Glynis Humphreys (right).

Five staff were trained by Henley to achieve the qualification under the subsidised Train to Gain initiative. The training was delivered to suit office demands and with the flexibility of ITQs, each person had a tailored qualification.

Mick Holland, sales administrator at Stonemarket, said: “It was very convenient to be able to fit the work in and around our jobs rather than to have to go to college in the evening. The course was tailored to help us in our working environment and it focused on the IT skills we needed to brush up on in order to do the job more efficiently.”

Julie Craddock, CoVE manager in computing and e-skills at Henley College, said: “ITQs are becoming a very popular and flexible computer qualification. Since it recognises that different employers need staff to have skills at different
levels, we are able to customise training to meet employers’ specific needs and to adapt the qualification to an individual’s skills level.”

Last modified: 26 Jun 2007