Hampshire Chamber moves to Bishopsfield Road campus

After nine years based at Wates House on Wallington Hill, the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce has relocated its Fareham head office to the Fareham College’s Bishopsfield Road campus.

Ross McNally, Hampshire Chamber’s Chief Executive and Executive Chairman, said:

“Becoming the anchor tenant at the new business centre puts us right at the heart of the facilities and solutions that will be involved in solving the skills issues facing Hampshire businesses.”

The Chamber’s new location will house a core team of nine working on international trade, membership, and events services, and provide flexible working space for four more staff.  

Fareham College is partnering with nine fellow colleges to launch the new business centre having secured funding from the Department for Education’s Strategic Development Fund.

The others are Isle of Wight College, Eastleigh College, HSDC, Brockenhurst College, Southampton City College, City of Portsmouth College, Itchen College, Barton Peveril College and the Lighthouse Learning Trust.

The aim is to create the Solent’s first business centre specifically designed to improve employers’ access to future skills training including technical education.

The new business centre is one of 14 projects around the UK being taken forward under the government’s Skills Accelerator programme.

Its key focus, set out in the Skills for Jobs white paper, is to ‘research skills, education, training and job needs in marine technology, net zero and digital futures’.

Hampshire Chamber’s office move was facilitated with input from Portsmouth-based social enterprise The Recycled Assets Company.