DIY Daz’s Signwriting Success Benefits New College Nottingham

“

A man who taught himself to be a signwriter and formed his owned company has gone into partnership with his former college, New College Nottingham (NCN), to give an opportunity for one lucky trainee to gain signwriting skills.

Daz Day of Anysign.co.uk will be recruiting a new apprentice into a trade that is severely under – skilled. The NCN’s signwriting course is run from its School of Construction, which has recently been established at the Basford Hall Campus and was partly financed by Polymer Sector Developments (PSD).

NCN Course “Best Thing I Ever Did”

Mr Day had previously undertaken the course at the college, which even helped him carry on studying despite a difficult back injury. Upon completing the course Mr Day was delighted to find plenty of work available and soon set up in business. “Taking the course at NCN was the best thing I ever did,” Mr Day revealed. “Signmaking is a great career. Practically every business needs a sign of some sort, so there are always job opportunities available, either working for yourself or for an established signs business.”

Mr Day went on to commend the course and the support he”d received from NCN, saying: “The college has all the latest equipment so learning is very much a hands-on experience. And the students have tremendous support and guidance from course tutor Adrian Sheppard. Adrian was particularly helpful to me when I set up my business and even now, I can call him up for help and advice whenever I need it.”

Specialised Skills

The signmaking industry is a highly skilled and specialised marketplace, which currently employs over 20,000 people nationally and a high level of training and talent are required to master the discipline. “Thanks to PSD funding, NCN has been able to expand its choice of signmaking courses significantly,” explained Adrian Sheppard at NCN. “As a result, we are now ideally placed to help students develop the skills they require to keep pace with the ever-changing requirements of employers in the industry.”

New College Nottingham is running one year and two year NVQ level 2 signwriting courses at its new School of Construction site, equipped with all the latest technology. This has been funded by the PSD and the East Midlands Development Agency.

It is great to see vocational education at work. The fact that Mr Day was able to train and then set up his own business shows that opportunities exist for committed people in some very unlikely places. Mr Day’s desire to develop a partnership with his old college, to encourage and support an apprentice through training and into the business, is an example many large employers should take note of.

Dan Atkinson

Think of FE? Think of FE News!

“