Borders based, specialist training company, Airhouse Studios was formed as a farm diversification project by Carol Ann Houghton five years ago.
Carol Ann has been providing training for the last 15 years and decided to create a private learning centre at the farm, which offers trainees a stunning rural setting.
The centre works with several bodies to provide training including Business Gateway, Heriot Watt University and LANTRA, the Sector Skills Council for land-based industries.
Airhouse Studios trains about 400 people every year. These include candidates from businesses in Edinburgh and the Borders and a number of local people. Microsoft Office courses are offered at all levels along with website design training using Microsoft Frontpage.
The centre is also an accredited test centre for the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), using online testing through satellite broadband.
Airhouse Studios also specialises in knitware computer aided design programming courses for individuals who want to set up their own knitware business. “The machines cost around £1,000 and it takes most users a couple of days to become proficient. We have the machines here and they get hands on tuition and can soon work on their own,” Carol Ann says.
Carol Ann became a certified Microsoft Office and Frontpage training professional with the British Computer Society in 2004, and says that demand for Microsoft courses is extremely brisk. The centre itself became a learndirect scotland branded learning centre two years ago.
“It has been very important for us to work with learndirect scotland. They work both with businesses and with individuals.The key for us is that by being a branded centre, we are able to access the learndirect scotland catalogue of courses,” she explains.
Airhouse Studios has grown substantially over the last five years and Carol Ann is now in the process of adding a number of log cabins to the farm so that she can offer luxury quality residential based training. “I hope to double in size over the next two to three years. The message that training is vital is being well received and we can see a strong demand in the market,” she concludes.