Case Studies

Truro and Penwith College Business Centre can offer a variety of services
and training to businesses in Cornwall. From Apprenticeships,
Business Skills Seminars and Business Advice to Customised Training,
Professional Qualifications and Training Needs Analysis. Take a look at
some of the businesses we have worked with to see how we can make a
difference to your business!

Empowering Smart Women: Linda Ellis Linda Ellis is now running a successful wedding photography business thanks to Empowering Smart Women. To read more click here: Linda Ellis


Empowering Smart Women: Rhowen Yoki - Fusion Rhowen Yoki has just completed a unique course designed to enhance the management and entrepreneurial skills of Cornish businesswomen. To read more click here: Rhowen Yoki


Apprentice: Jake Akeroyd - Trethem Mill Few family business owners realise they can take on their sons or daughters as apprentices – but the benefits of doing so can transform lives as well as the bottom line. To read more click here: Jake Akeroyd

Hall for Cornwall HfC wanted to improve the interdepartmental communication and internal and external customer service for the organisation. When hearing that their employees could be trained at no cost to HfC they were sceptical thinking that it sounded“too good to be true”. For more details on this click here: Hall for Cornwall

Peter Kessell - Truro City Council Peter‟s team of 7 gardeners look after the many floral displays and landscaped gardens in Truro City Centre. Within the organisation Peter is a'Learning Champion' after successfully completing a number of professional qualifications, Apprenticeships, NVQs and Business Skills Seminars with Truro and Penwith College Business Centre. For more details on this click here: Peter Kessell - Truro City Council


Sally Waters - Truro and Penwith College Truro and Penwith College is one of the 5 largest employers in Cornwall, with just under 1000 employees over 2 sites. The College delivers Apprenticeship frameworks in Business and Administration, Customer Services, Hospitality, Cleaning and Support Services, and expects to have 35 -50 employees starting on the programme in 2009. Apprenticeships are offered to young entrants, and to existing employees and Sue Lovell, Business Centre Manager describes the rationale for getting involved in Apprenticeships as leading by example: For more details on this click here: Sally Waters - Truro and Penwith College


Arwen Folkes - Real Baby Milk Arwen Folkes, one of Cornwall‟s leading female entrepreneurs, is about to embark on the new ESF Convergence funded Empowering Smart Women project. Arwen, whose original career was as a Marketing Assistant, has created a highly successful not for profit business in the last 4 years, helping and creating awareness for breastfeeding support for women and families within the UK. For more details on this click here: Arwen Folkes - Real Baby Milk


The Cornwall Partnership Trust The principle provider of mental health and learning disability services to people living in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. With over 1400 staff, providing quality training for all staff could be a daunting task for some.
For more details on this click here: The Cornwall Partnership Trust


Emily Tarrant - Webfooted Designs Emily Tarrant is part of a small two-person business, Webfooted Designs, trying to manage all aspects of running a business with no previous experience in the business world. Emily was also very keen on continuing her personal and professional development so when she heard about the ILM Business Improvement course at Penwith College she thought it would be an excellent opportunity. For more details on this click here: Emily Tarrant - Webfooted Designs


The Swallowcourt Group Cornwall‟s largest private provider of care for the elderly and people with learning disabilities is renowned for its attention to individual needs – and so, it says, is the college that trains its staff.
For more details on this click here: The Swallowcourt Group


The Seafood Restaurant - New Rick and Jill Stein's businesses have put Padstow on the national map, growing from a family operation in 1974 into a thriving organisation that employs 250 people in a county where good jobs are hard to find. Staff training could easily be a nightmare with so many employees spread across a variety of businesses, but this is where Truro and Penwith College could help!
For more details on this click here: The Seafood Restaurant


GJ Beads A busy mother who runs one of Britain’s biggest bead suppliers is praising Truro and Penwith College for helping her revitalise the business. Jill Thomas, owner of GJ Beads in Hayle, says the College’s business development course gave her a rare chance to think clearly about the business and where it was going.
For more details on this click here: GJ Beads


The Seafood Restaurant Truro College Business Centre worked closely with Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurnat to develop a programme specifically suited to the needs of their business and to ensure they received the support and development they needed. As a result of Truro College Business Centre’s extensive knowledge and dedication, access to funding has meant the training will be highly subsidised.
For more details on this click here: The Seafood Restaurant


Tamsin Richards - Penwith District Council Tamsin was brought up in the hospitality industry and so it was a natural career path for her to follow. After leaving full time education with a number of hospitality related qualifications Tamsin worked for several years in the Hotel industry. However, Tamsin decided that she wanted to change her career path and realised that she would need to gain a more general qualification to allow her to work outside of the Hotel Industry. For more details on this click here: Tamsin Richards


Continental Underfloor Heating Truro College Business Centre has been highly involved in providing a wide variety of training to suit the needs of the company and each individual employee. In acknowledging the growing success of Continental Underfloor Heating, Truro College Business Centre has nominated them for the British Small Business Champions Awards. For more details on this story click here: Continental Underfloor Heating


Cornwall Glass and Glazing In the three years since Cornwall Glass and Glazing began sending his staff to Truro College for training, their turnover has shot up by 16 per cent, their employees are staying instead of straying, and their order books are so full that business is running at full capacity. Martin Saint, General Manager comments "It’s impossible to say that the reason our turnover has increased so dramatically is purely as a result of training – but it must have played a major part.” For more details on this case study click here: Cornwall Glass and Glazing


Empowered women work together! Truro College Business Centre has assisted over 550 women to break through the glass ceiling through their Empower project. These women have done achieved fabulous things through the help of Empower and now some of the ladies even plan to work together to further enhance their business! For more details on this case study click here: Empowering women work together


Top holiday park trains to gain with Truro College! Truro College Business Centre has worked closely with White Acres holiday park training over 20 staff, including management, in a number of areas. Training at the White Acres has improved organisational skills and enhanced the motivation and communication skills of management. For more details on this case study click here: White Acres Holiday Park


Truro College assists in Reiki Healing Anna-Marie Lounds studied an Institute of Leadership and Management qualficiation with Truro College and since achieving the initial qualification has gone on to achieve great things. For more details on this case study click here: Little Lotus


Cornwall County Council Apprenticeship After completing her A Levels, 23-year-old Lindsay Peters wanted to maximise her chances of gaining a rewarding and secure job. Being based in Cornwall, Lindsay felt she needed to stand out from the crowd in order to secure a full time promising position, in an area of the country where much of the employment is seasonal. Lindsay applied to Truro College Business Centre to undertake an OCR NVQ in Business and Administration. She was successful and was placed by the course leader in a full time position at Cornwall County Council where she could learn and earn while working. For more details on this case study click here: Lindsay Peters


National Maritime Museum Cornwall The National Maritime Museum Cornwall wanted to continue to improve service levels in their world class organisation. Sandie Martyn, HR Manager comments “As an organisation that is both a tourist attraction and a heritage organisation, we have diverse training needs.” Truro College Business Centre undertook the challenge to find and deliver training that would suit their exact needs. For more details on this case study click here: National Maritime Museum Cornwall