Nine Graduating 3rd year BA Graphic Design learners recently presented an exhibition of their work at ‘New Designers’ at Business Design centre in London. Some had previously completed a range of level 3 qualifications with Weston College, such as Graphic Design Extended Diploma, and Computing Extended Diploma.

The ‘New Designers’ event invites 2500 hand-picked graduate design talents from around the UK to present their work at the longest running and leading design showcase over a period of two weeks. UCW’s learners had the chance to show off their best designing work at the prestigious event, even with the possibility of winning awards.

The event also provides the chance for graduates to connect with big employers like Sky, looking to recruit. As well as employers, there are also buyers looking to source the most innovative craft and design. This networking event is a great opportunity to display potential career roles to the graduates, begin helping them make decisions in what their future goals are, and how to reach them!

Graphic Design degrees can have a broad array of careers available to graduates, but more than half of graduates in employment in the UK got a job in graphic design in the first six months after graduation.

Vicki King, the Higher Education Graphic Design Co-ordinator commented: "The learner's work came together in a super professional looking stand - we could not be more proud!”

She continued: “One of the key benefits of this event is learning how to represent themselves, something which all students grew to excel at during the exhibition."

Congratulations to everyone involved for this wonderful achievement!

Rebecca is currently completing her Digital and Technical Solutions course, as an apprentice, and has recently competed in the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Championships.

The MOS Championship is an extension of the MOS certification programme, launched in 2010 to assess learner’s knowledge to prepare them for university and the workplace. The championship welcomes students from all over the world to compete head-to-head to win the title of MOS Champion.

Rebecca had previously completed the Excel course on the programme, so was familiar with MOS, and heard Weston College were running and had beat the MOS Course Week challenge but hadn’t heard of the full Championship at the time.

Completing the week challenge was motivation for Rebecca to then complete the Word Associate Course on the 23rd May, and whilst doing this, selected the option to enter the championship if she scored high enough on the associate course, not thinking she would ever reach the next stage. The associate course was to be carried out online, so Rebecca finished the projects, each of which containing 5-7 individual tasks to showcase her advanced skills on Word, and scored high enough on the course to be entered into the championship!

The final took place on the 15th June, and Rebecca completed the hour long exam in just 20 minutes! The exam ended up being slightly easier than she was expecting, but she believed this was due to rigorous revision of practice exams and questions on the lead up and on the day.

Overall, out of 30 competitors, Rebecca placed in sixth, with a score of 95%!

Rebecca commented: “If you’re reading this and thinking of entering next year, practice as much as you can; LinkedIn learning have a huge range of courses that are really helpful for practicing and have loads of training material.”

She continued: “The whole experience has been wonderful, and I never thought I’d get the chance to compete in a competition like this. I’m thrilled with my final score, and the skills I’ve gained from partaking are highly valuable; I’ll carry them with me all throughout my apprenticeship and future career.”

Congratulations, Rebecca!

We really feel accountancy is a great career path for a huge range of people, but many won’t give it the time of day!

Read our top ten reasons why being an accountant could be the perfect aspiration for you:

1. A Job That Is In-Demand: Accountants are a highly in-demand job, so you could walk straight into a job after gaining the relevant qualifications. As technology revolutionises, more jobs will be created than destroyed.

2. Job Security: There will therefore be job security in the field, meaning you won’t have to worry about losing and finding a new job. This could be because…

3. Everyone Needs An Accountant! There is a huge variety of sectors and industries you can work in as an accountant, including entertainment, business, STEM, and many other fields

4. Be Your Own Boss: Alternatively, you could decide to set up your own accountancy business, and be your own boss, spend the days doing what you love, off your own accord.

5. Love To Travel? Accountancy even includes the chance to travel! The opportunities will be endless when you’re fully qualified!

6. Accountancy Is Great For Any Age! From starting training at 16-18, or gaining your qualifications as an adult, we offer the course for you! 16-18s will benefit hugely from the Accountancy T Level, with industry placements throughout, and meeting employers and providers to help prepare you for the world of work. Alternatively, 16-18s could choose to learn in the workplace on an Apprenticeship, giving the opportunity to earn a wage while learning.

Adult courses are a great option for over 19s, with a choice of 6 courses in accounting so you can choose the perfect level for you, all including the opportunity to gain valuable workplace skills.

7. Varied Responsibilities: Accountants have many different responsibilities, not just crunching numbers, so your days will be varied and you can guarantee you won’t get bored on the job! Roles may involve dealing with important financial reports, create solutions to financial issues, help organisations run smoothly, and how to effectively manage their money.

8. Development Of Skills: You will also acquire and develop great personal skills that can be transferred to other contexts outside the workplace, and can be carried with you for life – these can include good communication, solid advisory and guidance skills.

9. Financial Benefits: Alongside great skills for both in and out the workplace, accountancy also has huge financial benefits. According to the 2019 Accounting and Finance Salary Guide compiled by Robert Half, accountants with one to three years of experience can earn between $51,500 (£43,516) and $96,500 (£81,541) annually. Those with five or more years of experience can earn as much as $129,250 (£109,214) per year.

10. Make A Real Difference: Accountants are huge assets to businesses and are extremely helpful when monitoring important aspects of businesses, including cash flow and taxes. Your work will be highly valued, and you’ll be a crucial member of the team.

Check out our different accountancy courses (T Levels and Adult Courses) if this is the perfect role for you!

Hi! My name is Shell and I am currently on my final placement on the Acute Medical Unit as part of my degree in Nursing. The AMU is a medical assessment ward where patients are continually admitted and discharged, making it a highly complex and fast paced environment.

I began my journey in this field by completing an Access to Nursing and Midwifery course with Weston College, which incorporated both Biology and Psychology. My caring nature and desire to help others was what led me to look into career options in the care sector, as I knew I would want to develop skills in the area and gain the confidence to start a nursing degree.

While the Access course was intense and required total dedication, it was a fantastic starting point for my degree and placements, and was the best decision I’ve ever made. It gave me the tools I needed to research and compose assignments, and provided a comprehensive understanding of the main body systems which was invaluable throughout my nursing degree. I have now secured a full-time job in the AMU, and I start in September!

Day to day, you’ll find me carrying out medication records, fulfilling instructions from the doctors, for example carrying out blood tests, ensuring documentation is up to scratch, and most importantly, providing support and reassurance to all my patients and their families.

The Access course gave me a head start on developing skills which could help me with these tasks, including management skills and prioritising academic and personal development. Furthermore, it gave me the confidence that I can do anything I put my mind to.

My advice for those interested in completing an Access course would be to absorb all the knowledge and take advantage of all the support and benefits available. Also, have faith that you will make it through, no matter how challenging it is!

           - Shell

Weston College allows anyone of any age and skill to break into the field that will help them achieve their goals. If you're interested in our access to Higher Education courses, click here.

Shell described college as “the hardest but best year of her life”, and has truly impacted her future, allowing her to gain experience in a field she is truly passionate about, with the hopes of carrying this on full time. We wish Shell the best of luck with her university results and her new job starting in September.

Last Thursday, Weston College celebrated the success of learners and employers at the annual Business Awards.

One of the award winners, Brandon, is completing a T Level in Digital Production, Design and Development with Weston College. One of the first people in the country to take this course, Brandon has been impressing tutors and employers alike, with his dedication and work ethic.

Taking this course allows learners to venture into career paths including web development and design. Brandon has taken full advantage of these skills and has played a key role in the development of Spacebar, which has taken residency in the Sovereign Centre, and provides a space for local employers to access digital support from computing learners (Digital T Level and BTEC learners), who develop websites and enhance an organisation’s digital visibility.

Since its launch, learners have developed 32 websites whilst on their industry placement – a key part of the T Level.

Brandon felt a demand for this during COVID-19, as so many businesses had to change the way they functioned, and needed the skills and assistance to help them achieve a great online presence.

Brandon’s daily tasks and responsibilities include managing clients first hand, making sure they’re happy and satisfied with their end result, as well as delegating work to other groups, marketing the whole business to increase clientele, and mentoring new groups.

Through all these responsibilities, he’s developed his technical skills to an advanced level, as well as skills including customer service, leadership, and professionalism.

Brandon has truly gone above and beyond the requirements and expectations from an industry placement, including working tirelessly long hours to ensure Spacebar becomes a success. Due to these many factors, he has recently won the Industry Placement Learner of the Year at the Weston College Business Awards 2022, which is definitely well deserved!

If you would like to follow in Brandon’s footsteps, you can find out about our Digital T Level, by clicking here.

Hi, I’m Alisha and I’ve just finished studying the Digital Production, Design and Development T Level.

I was part of the first ever cohort of learners to study T Levels, not only at Weston College, but in the UK.

The course has honestly been excellent, and I am so glad that I decided to go down the T Level route. It has helped me to develop a range of skills, from soft to hard skills – as well as developing my technical skills which I can already tell are going to benefit me in the future.

One of the benefits of studying a T Level, is having the opportunity to gain work experience through an industry placement – something which I enjoyed!

I completed my placement at a company called Next Theme where I focussed on web development. I experienced creating a website for a company and used languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP.

I particularly enjoyed having the opportunity to put the theory I’d learnt in the classroom into practice, by experiencing a real working environment. I also had the opportunity to develop new skills, such as PHP, which shows the benefit of industry placements.

During my placement, I wasn’t just seen as a ‘placement student’, my role was Junior Developer, and through this I have completed tasks related to websites and marketing, which helped me to understand how businesses can expand and build their digital presence.

My skills have been put to the test, especially in terms of HTML and CSS skills, but thanks to the support I have received at college, I have been able to handle the challenges that have come my way.

My industry placement employer has also been supportive, which has been a huge help. They have guided me through the transition to work and helped me gain even more knowledge.

I am so proud to have worked for Next Theme, the experience has improved my confidence and communication, as well getting a clearer understanding of what it is like to work in a professional environment.

Now that I have completed my T Level, I am planning to go to university to study computing, as I would like to develop my skills even further to become a web developer.

If you are reading this and thinking of studying a T Level at Weston College, then I say go for it! You will learn so many skills on your course, the staff are incredibly supportive, and the industry placement takes the course to the next level!

Alisha, Digital T Level Learner at Weston College

The student-organised Relationships Fayre at the Hans Price Conference Centre was a huge success, with over 200 students attending and engaging with highly important and thought-provoking topics. Information provided for the attendees included topics such as safe sex, period poverty, consent, relationships with others, and most importantly, safety.

The students displayed exemplar behaviour, showing sensitivity and a mature response to the personal subject matter.

Several external agencies joined the fayre, to ensure all information shared was appropriate and from a professional source.

Students felt this topic was important to bring light to learners with SEND in particular, as young people with learning difficulties or disabilities have as much of a right as anyone else to engage in both healthy sexual and non-sexual relationships, so providing the information to emphasise this is highly beneficial to them.

Research indicates that for young people with SEND, incidences of abuse are four times more likely, and yet less likely to be reported. This further emphasises the importance of providing support in enabling independence and preparing for adulthood.

The Healthy Relationships Fayre turned out to be highly successful, in terms of attendance and helpfulness to the learners, so the students would be keen to continue this as a yearly fayre for students to come.

Students with Autism studying with Weston College’s residential training facility "Weston Bay" have just completed the annual Community Project.

They organised an enterprise project to fundraise the budget needed to renovate and re-decorate Mead Vale Community Hall.

Two weeks were then spent onsite, painting, gardening, upcycling planters using old tyres and improving a well-used site within our local community. All students showed great determination, selflessness and community spirit, putting into practice all of the teamwork, independence and social skills they have learned throughout the year.

Weston College is one of three Centres for Excellence in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). As a Centre of Excellence, the College will become a national leader in SEND learning. Weston Bay is a residential training centre for students on the autism spectrum, specialising in providing support to aid learners with independent living, employability and accessing the community.

Mead Vale Community Hall is a hub for local residents to come together for various clubs and activities, from Scout meetings and dance practice to Yoga and craft classes. A well-loved staple of the community, the hall was simply in need of some TLC, and that’s where our learners came in.

We caught up with learner, Chloe Turnbull-Yeo, who gave an expert and confidently delivered speech at the opening event.

Chloe told us that, in order to start working on the hall in May, the students involved took part in various fundraising activities. She went on to explain how they all went about the huge task of beginning the restoration project, telling us that, together they truly developed their teamwork skills. 

The opening itself consisted of a grand tour, a buffet of food made by learners and, very excitingly, a visit from The Mayor of Weston-super-Mare, Councillor Sonia Russé to cut the ribbon and officiate the occasion.

Just before cutting the ribbon, The Mayor of Weston-super-Mare, Councillor Sonia Russé had this to say: “It’s a real privilege for me to be here and open this facility, which is so needed. The work that has been done here is phenomenal. There is no ceiling to what any of you can achieve”.

Heidi, Lead Practitioner at Weston Bay from the faculty in Inclusive Practice, went on to say “the tenacity, problem-solving and teamwork has been absolutely incredible.”

Well done to all of the hard-working students for making the project such a great success.

To find out more about Weston Bay, click here.

To find out what’s on and follow Mead Vale Community Hall on Facebook, click here.