South Hampshire College Group are celebrating National Careers Week 2025 with a new matrix Standard accreditation, successfully achieved through sustained delivery of high-quality careers support for prospective and current students.
Special commendation was given in this report to the College Group’s commitment to positive working and effective collaboration with internal and external partners, and commitment of managers to work towards alignment across the organisation. Staff and students alike were identified as being well supported, with plenty of available careers guidance that has proved impactful to students.
The matrix Standard is the international quality standard for organisations that deliver careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG), either as their sole purpose or as part of their service offering. This external audit required a review of South Hampshire College Group’s Careers and Admissions processes and procedures, feedback from students, as well as reviewing relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
Roger Chapman, Head of the matrix Service for The Growth Company said: “This is a fantastic achievement for South Hampshire College Group and I would like to congratulate the team on their success. We believe that at the heart of high-quality advice and support services are strong leadership, excellent service and a focus on continuous improvement, all underpinned by effective use of the resources available. The matrix Standard is designed to benchmark organisations against best practice in these areas. With their accreditation success, South Hampshire College Group is working to provide the best possible support to their clients.”
Ashley Martin, Director of Student Experience and Transition at South Hampshire College Group, commented: “We are extremely proud to have achieved matrix accreditation. This accomplishment is a testament to the dedication and hard work of all across our organisation. It reinforces our commitment to support students in receiving high-quality advice and guidance that helps them reach their full potential and achieve their career goals.”
Trudy McKenzie, Group Careers and Admissions Manager at South Hampshire College Group, commented: “We are delighted to have received this accreditation as recognition for all the hard work that goes into the delivery of our careers information, advice, guidance and customer service. The progress of the merger and aligning careers and admissions across our three colleges – Eastleigh College, Fareham College and Southampton College – hasn’t been without its challenges, but it is great to know that it has not affected the level of support given to students and potential students.
“We couldn’t have received this accreditation without the dedication and hard work of all our Admissions & Guidance Officers, Reception staff, Admissions Leads and Careers Advisers. This has been a real team effort and we would like to thank all those other wider staff members, stakeholders and students, who assisted by speaking to the Report Assessor.”
Building upon this fantastic achievement, South Hampshire College Group’s celebrations of National Careers Week (which runs 3rd – 8th March) will be extra special this year, featuring engaging events and activities for all students across the college group, including employer talks, in-person support from universities, mock interview opportunities, CV workshops and careers drop-in sessions.
For further information, please contact South Hampshire College Group at info@shcg.ac.uk or visit www.shcg.ac.uk.
