With campuses in Colchester, Braintree and Tendring, programmes include full and part time further education courses, degrees and Apprenticeships as well as short courses for industry. In our recent Ofsted inspection, the College was judged to be Good in every judgement area, and inspectors awarded the highest possible grade for the way in which the College meets skills needs, confirming our strong contribution to providing the exact training that local people and organisations need.

Vocational learning is an integral part of all of our courses, where the knowledge gained from practical activities with cutting edge, industry standard resources, work placements and theory provides students with strong knowledge and skills in their chosen field. Our ambition is to ensure that all students achieve the best possible results they can, giving them a competitive edge when entering employment or taking their studies to the next level.

In Colchester, we have recently transformed our main buildings to provide outstanding facilities to support our mission. Every year we further invest in our facilities to ensure the best possible learning environments and to help support growth in demand for our courses. In 2024 we launched our spacious Net Zero and Renewables Centre, offering a range of Green Skills courses aimed at local industry, as well as our own students. In recent years we opened state of the art commercial hair and beauty salons alongside our new Early Years suite, that now supports successful T Level qualifications. As the largest provider of Construction skills training across the East of England, we also continue to expand our workshops supporting a wide range of construction trades and professional courses.

All of this activity follows on from opening our flagship £5m Health and Social Care facility in 2020, complete with replica clinical and care settings and immersive technologies. These developments complement our fabulous facilities for all other areas and especially Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing, Creative Media, Hospitality, Performing Arts and Art and Design.

At Braintree we completed our multi-million pound campus transformation programme in 2019, providing outstanding learning environments for all subject areas, including some of the very best facilities in the country for Digital Media and Engineering. Both main campuses feature a welcoming library, study zones, student services and refectory facilities to support students.

Our degree students, enrolled at University Centre Colchester enjoy their own building and facilities and study on a range of degrees and apprenticeships, which are also focused strongly on preparing graduates for work, or progression at work.  University Centre Colchester has an excellent track record for its graduates gaining work or further study after their time with us.

Alison Andreas, Principal and Chief Executive