City of Portsmouth College gains SECTEC Anchor College accreditation

City of Portsmouth College has been granted SECTEC Anchor College accreditation, cementing it as a regional leader in construction provision.

SECTEC – which stands for South East Construction Technical Excellence College – was initially launched by North Kent College. Its Anchor Colleges Partnership is designed to drive improvement in the quality, scale and consistency of construction skills provision by sharing expertise and best practice, supporting local employers, addressing skills shortages, influencing sector priorities and working collectively to address regional challenges.

COPC, picked to cover the Hampshire and Isle of Wight region, is one of five colleges across the South East to be granted accreditation, alongside Abingdon & Witney College, Brooklands Technical College, Buckinghamshire College Group and Chichester College Group.

COPC was officially welcomed into the fold at the organisation’s inaugural partnership meeting in London, with Principal & CEO Katy Quinn and Deputy Principal & CEO Matt Phelps attending.

"We are honoured to be chosen as a SECTEC Anchor College and proud to represent Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in this role,” said Katy Quinn, CEO of City of Portsmouth College. “With a long-standing reputation for excellence in construction and building services training, we look forward to working closely with other providers across the region to share expertise, strengthen collaboration and help drive positive change across the sector.”

“Our first meeting here in London has been fantastic,” added Matt Phelps. “It’s a compelling prospect to know we’ll be collaborating with other colleges on improving provision, celebrating existing advances in provision and representing the next generation of talent in the construction industry, and we cannot wait to get started.”

COPC’s SECTEC accreditation news arrives at a time of significant growth in construction provision at the College, following the recent announcement of a £1.2m funding injection from the Department for Education (DfE) Post-16 Construction Skills Capacity Fund to boost facilities at its North Harbour and Highbury campuses and enhance student experience and outcomes.

To find out more about COPC’s construction courses, visit www.copc.ac.uk and learn more about SECTEC at www.sectechub.co.uk