It's really wonderful that the princess is coming along

Isabelle Potter, Web

The centre offers courses in carpentry and joinery, painting and decorating, plumbing and electrical installation and also focuses on life-long learning with lessons in computing and general communication skills.

Princess Anne - who, as patron of Web, opened the project's premises in south-east London in 1998 - is returning to launch an outreach programme.

The campaign will encourage those women who would not contemplate going to college, to train with Web, centre manager Isabelle Potter explained.

"This is about targeting those who would feel excluded even from coming to Web," she said.

Up to 300 women - mainly in their late 20s and early 30s - pass through Web's two centres in Surrey Quays, south-east London and in Ladbroke Grove, west London.

Many are lone parents or from ethnic minority backgrounds.

'Exciting'

Ms Potter said the visit by Princess Anne to Surrey Quays on Wednesday was an honour.

"It's really wonderful that the princess is coming along, especially as she opened the site in 1998.

"It's exciting that she'll see the place and hopefully she'll see the difference!" she said.

The centres receive funding from a variety of sources, including the Gatsby Charitable Trust, the European Social Fund, Skillswork and the Silwood single regeneration budget.