FINALLY, BRITAIN’S FAIRER LOTTERY IS HERE
Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation Training College paid tribute to the remarkable achievements of its disabled trainees at the Annual Prize-giving on Thursday 24th June.
Garry Billing, the Principal of the Training College, welcomed some 120 guests including students, staff and representatives of the local business community and spoke of his admiration for the College’s trainees and their success in completing their studies: “The value of the college is in helping people gain confidence in themselves, confidence that the workplace is actually for them and not just for other people.”
Prizes were awarded in fifteen different categories ranging from Book-Keeping & Accounts through to Computer Aided Design and Building Crafts for students who had excelled in their training.
The College’s Trainee of the Year, Vince Boardman, summed up the mood of the prize-giving event: “The College is magic. Coming here was the best thing that happened to me.” After an accident Vince was unable to practise carpentry and joinery and found himself unemployed for eight years. However through the Training College’s specialist employment programme, Vince regained his confidence and found new opportunities in the workplace, and after leaving the College, moved into an engineering company where he now works as a consultant, providing computer aided design services.
Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation Training College has an annual intake of some 250 new students and, since its opening 70 years ago, has remained dedicated to providing training leading to sustainable employment. The success of the College’s trainees in obtaining employment has drawn particular attention from local employers this year, in the light of the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) this October, which calls for wider employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Notes for Editors
About Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation Training College
Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation Training College has been working with people with disabilities for nearly 70 years. The College delivers an exceptional standard of training and education to enable its trainees to gain employment and independence. Providing a vibrant and stimulating environment, the College works to educate and retrain young people with disabilities through a number of certified courses ranging from Information Technology through to Travel Tourism. The Training College is one of the Foundation’s six centres dealing with complex disability.
Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation is a registered charity based in Leatherhead, Surrey providing solutions to the needs of people with complex disabilities through the work of its six centres specialising in education, vocational training, brain injury rehabilitation, skills development and information services.
