About CENTRA

The History

CENTRA’s origins date back to 10 October 1839 , when the Mechanics’ and Literary Institutions and Lyceums from across the region came together to form the Union of Lancashire and Cheshire Institutes (ULCI), one of Britain’s first vocational examining bodies.

• The ULCI merged with the NWRAC (North Western Regional Advisory Council) in 1976 when the organisation of local authorities was undergoing radical change.
• In 1988, the North West LEAs decided to review NWRAC/ULCI’s current role and functions which resulted in its replacement by CENTRA (the Further Education centre for the Regional Association of LEAs).
• CENTRA was established on 1 April 1990. At this time, 20% of the annual turnover came from LEA subscription.
• During the following three years, the LEA subscription income was gradually withdrawn and CENTRA became self-financing in April 1993.
• In 1994, CENTRA achieved corporate status as CENTRA (Education and Training Services) Ltd with a Board of Directors taking over from the North West LEAs.
• In 2000, CENTRA along with AOSEC, EMFEC and Learning South West formed the Awarding Body Consortium Ltd (ABC), now called ABC awards to provide its examining functions nationally.
  

CENTRA Ltd has charitable status as a result of its provision of services to the education sector.

 

CENTRA Education & Training

 

CENTRA operates on a national and international basis. It provides a range of quality services to support all those involved in education and training in the public, private and voluntary sectors, in the form of:

Training Events and Seminars

CENTRA's Education and Training team runs more than 200 training events per year, covering a wide range of topics relevant to employees within schools and colleges.

 

Networks

CENTRA co-ordinates a range of practitioner and curriculum networks across the whole education sector. These include; Early Years, Teaching Assistants, Special Schools, Counselors, Professional Development Coordinators, Internal Verifiers, Post 16, Initial Teacher Training.

 

In-House Training / Consultancy

CENTRA provides Schools, FE Colleges, and LA's with In-house training / consultancy / CPD. Negotiated with organisations to meet their individual requirements this forms a core aspect of CENTRAs training provision. CENTRA understands the efficiencies of our trainers coming to you - either a single school/college or cluster with similar requirements.

 

Event Management

CENTRA provides a creative, high quality and cost effective event management service specifically for the education sector. Services include; Commissioning and Planning, Accommodation Management, Speaker/ Trainer booking, Publicity, Administration.

About Sysco

Sysco has been providing practical business support and training since its creation in 1989 and has a strong reputation of working with strategic partners including Universities, Colleges, Business Links, Chambers of Commerce, and the private sector.

 

As a supplier under all of the BLGM consultancy frameworks, an LSC GM SkillWorks provider as well as a provider of Work Based Learning under the apprenticeship programme, the business is well placed to support organisations across almost any identified need. Sysco is an ISO 9001:2000 organisation, a recognised investor in people with IIP, and an affiliate member of the IBA (Institute of Business Advisors) operating with SBS registered consultants.

 

The company has a special understanding of the needs of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and the difficulties faced by many entrepreneurial start ups. The business has managed successful business start up programmes specific to Merseyside and in conjunction with Business Link County Durham as well as demand-led intervention programmes designed to support existing companies with growth potential requiring specific support in areas including export development, sales and marketing, management and quality systems, health and safety, and human resource management systems.

 

Within the Best Practice Frameworks operating through Business Link for Greater Merseyside, Sysco is an agreed delivery partner across all nine frameworks: Business Diagnostics, Finance and Accounting, General Management, Operational Management, Human Resource Management, ICT, New Product Development, Health and Safety, as well as Sales and Marketing.

 

Training is provided across a range of business disciplines and Sysco is a registered centre with both OCR and City & Guilds to provide:

• Business Start up Level 3
• Management Levels 3, 4, and 5 both operational and strategic
• Health and Safety Levels 3 and 4
• Business Administration
• IT
• Mentoring
• Customer Service

Bespoke training is also provided on a demand-led basis in such subjects as:

• Leadership and Management
• Sales and Marketing
• Team Building
• Managing Change
• Project Management
• Managing Performance
• NLP Business Networking
• Business Planning
• Key Account Management
• Negotiation Skills
• Training & Coaching