Computeach comes to Advent students’ rescue
A BLACK Country-based IT company has come to the rescue of thousands of students affected by the closure of a computer training firm.
Computeach, based in Dudley, said it will be able to honour the course commitments of up to 5,000 students who had signed up to Advent Computer Training, which collapsed last month, after agreeing a package with Barclays Partner Finance.
Administrators PKF were appointed to run the Worcestershire-based firm while a new buyer was sought for Advent and Access 2 Careers, both of which were operated by directors Ivor Allchurch and Ashley Jones.
The collapse of Advent Computer Training left thousands of students paying finance fees for IT courses they could no longer access.
Managing director of Computeach, Karl Parkinson, said it had bought a number of assets from PKF Birmingham to enable training to continue as quickly as possible.
It meant students who signed up for a third-party loan from Barclays to pay for the courses could now continue and complete their studies. Barclays has also agreed to extend the course end by three months so that students are not disadvantaged by the collapse of Advent.
Students were protected by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, which states that in certain circumstances, loan providers must give similar services to those of a company that has been declared insolvent.
“Barclays has shown leadership during this uncertain time for students and we are delighted to be chosen as their preferred training partner,” he said.
“By extending the contract period that it had with Advent, Barclays has shown a great gesture of goodwill.”
A total of 5,000 students were signed up for courses, although it has not yet been revelaed the number who signed up for a Barclays loan. Those who paid for their courses up-front or made arrangements with other loan providers will not benefit from the agreement with Computeach.
