Work started today (Tuesday, October 24) on a brand-new £1m building for Cothrom Ltd, a widely acclaimed training centre and childcare facility serving the Uists and Barra.

The first turf was cut by William Roe, chairman of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) who said he regarded Cothrom to be one of the best examples of social enterprise companies in Scotland.

Cothrom was established in the late 1980s and operates from a former schoolhouse in Stoneybridge, with outreach centres at Liniclate, Lochboisdale and Barra. Its 11-strong staff and six volunteer tutors deliver training in areas such as childcare, administration, mentoring, IT and customer care and use their business contacts to arrange work placements throughout the islands for their many trainees.

In addition, Cothrom manages the local community web site Uistonline and provides support to the women's group, Connect Uist and Barra.

Driven by a demand to expand the range of qualifications it offers and a growing need for more space, the organisation has been conducting a long campaign to get its own purpose-built premises. Its own fundraising efforts have been complemented by contributions from Western Isles Enterprise, the Scottish Land Fund, the Big Lottery Fund; Future Builders; Learndirect, the Robertson Trust; Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, European Regional Development Fund, Lloyds TSB and the Crofting Communities Development Fund.

The new building will provide two training rooms, a workshop area and student common room, two study rooms, administration offices and storage, a staff base and kitchen area. In addition a new nursery will provide all day care, including out of school and holiday care, to Cothrom students, staff and the community in general. The nursery will also provide work experience for childcare students.

It's hoped the centre, built by Uist Builders, will be ready for use in July 2007.

Cutting the first turf on the proposed plot Mr Roe said he felt immensely privileged to be playing a role in the history of Cothrom, "I applaud the exceptional leadership shown by those who had the vision of what could be achieved here and have made that ambition become reality. By their efforts Cothrom has become a learning and training centre of a quality and relevance that stands as a model for the public and private sector to emulate.

"This is a £1.1m facility servicing the population of Barra and the Uists which numbers around 6000. If that spend was divided among the population of Inverness it would represent a £11m project and in Edinburgh a £85m project. The board of Cothrom have every reason to be very proud of their achievement."

Cothrom manager Barbara MacDonald said: "Cothrom occupies a very special place in the lives of Uist and Barra communities. To ensure that we continue to make a real contribution to our clients' prospects, we are continually seeking new avenues through which we can deliver services to benefit the locality and provide our clients with valuable training experience.

"The creation of purpose-built premises will bring an enormous improvement to working conditions for everyone involved with the facility and we are absolutely thrilled at the prospect of moving in next year."