TWO Basingstoke organisations are set to join forces to deliver a major skills boost to the town and further afield.

The BCOT and BETA partnership will allow them to pool resources and expertise, and create a single engineering training division with the capacity to meet the skills needs of companies and learners both locally and nationally.

The planned merger follows BCOT's recent Action for business accreditation success. It will build on BETA's excellent reputation for delivering high-quality, employer-focused training and the college's expertise with learners of all ages.

For local employers, BCOT and BETA together will proactively address skills gaps, in particular enabling aspiring and existing engineers to access up-to-date, industry-specific training, and further and higher education including foundation degrees.

In addition to meeting engineering training needs, the combined unit will be able to provide a complete training solution for its customers, including management and personal skills training, health and safety courses and use of IT in business.

The BETA brand will be retained and training will continue to be delivered from the current premises on Joule Road, Basingstoke, which will be further developed by BCOT in the future.

David Belcher, chief executive of BETA, said: "We are very pleased that the BETA brand will continue and see this as an exciting opportunity for both parties."

Judith Armstrong, BCOT principal, added: "We are delighted with the fact that BETA and BCOT are able to plan to work together in this way in the future.

"I believe this is a fantastic opportunity for us to address the skills shortage in engineering in this region through the provision of high-quality and industry-relevant training programmes."

Rob Munson, operations director of the Learning and Skills Council for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said: "This development has our full backing. Joining a high-quality engineering training provider such as BETA with the local college, which has just been awarded the Action for Business standard, makes a powerful combination."

The two organisations are now working on the fine detail of the merger proposal, which is planned to be completed by the end of July.