Actor and puppeteer Brian Herring made an appearance at the Centre for Business, Arts and Technology on 8 May to talk about life in the film industry. 

The Centre for Business, Arts and Technology offers a range of primarily vocational courses in creative and entrepreneurial disciplines, working with local businesses and theatres to provide relevant experience for tomorrow’s actors, musicians and businesspeople.

Since his debut role in Spitting Image (1984), Herring has built an impressive filmography spanning from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005) to Prometheus (2012), the opening ceremony of the London Olympics to the latest Star Wars movies.

Delivering a talk to City and Islington College students, Herring discussed the modern film industry, sharing his own experiences on set and offering advice to the would-be actors, puppeteers, directors and writers in the audience.

“I grew up in theatre. I’m from Harlow in Essex and did a lot of local theatre there. It was something I had always wanted to do. I went to a local college and did a drama class, but didn’t get into drama school. I remember a teacher telling me my obsession with Star Wars wouldn’t get me anywhere in life. In the end, I kept chipping away at acting, taking on things like extra work before I realised I had to specialise.

“The film industry is brutal because you don’t know what’s coming up next. It’s hard if you’re not going to decide on which direction you want to take. I became a puppeteer and stuck at it.

“When Jurassic World came out, we thought that digital was going to take over from puppeteers. But actually, there’s been a big swing round as people recognise the difference between a real puppet and digital effects.”

Herring went on to walk his audience through the layers of the Star Wars set, showing the process of building a puppet up from a doodle on a napkin to a twenty-foot polystyrene model. Opening the conversation up to questions, it was apparent that discipline was central to succeeding in the role. Two months of training and choreography in some of the world’s most extreme climates could become a two second clip in the final cut.

Towards the end of the show, Brian was asked how he would advise somebody looking to get into the industry. He said: “There’s no one way in. The right place at the right time is important. Meeting people. Listening to people. Working out who is who. There are lots of courses that help people get in as trainees. When people start seeing you’re useful, you’ll be asked to come along to the next one. But it never comes to you. It’s never easy.

“The thing is, every single one of you has got the ability to write, edit, publish and broadcast a film in your pocket. The more films you make, the better you get at it. You’ll make a lot of rubbish in the beginning, but stick at it. It’s easier than ever to get the skills required to succeed in the film industry.”

On 3 April, three Business Level 3 students from the Career Ready Programme visited the Suited & Booted charity, based near Liverpool Street Station. 

Suited & Booted supply formal clothes and accessories to men who require support selecting appropriate wear for job interviews and City employment.

Students David Agunwah, Ritik Vibhani and Michael Raul Cabana Sotelo were accompanied by Anne-Marie Melbourne, CONEL’s Employer Engagement officer. Two store assistants then helped kit out the students with individually tailored outfits ahead of upcoming work experience.

David, Michael and Ritik were all very happy with their suits and said they really enjoyed their appointments.  The three are expecting summer internships in the coming months, and reportedly enjoyed the opportunity to get a taste for professional life in the big city. David will be based at Citi Bank in Canary Wharf for his internship, while Ritik and Michael will be based at PA Consultancy Group in Victoria.

David said: “I joined the Career Ready programme to gain work experience. It is a flexible programme, so that helps with my studying. I really liked getting my free suit, which will help me when I start my internship at Citi Bank in July.”

Anne-Marie SaidL “This was our first time at Suited and Booted as a college. My manager gave me a flyer for the company and when I contacted them the founder of the charity invited us down. It was easy to get to and the students were really excited. Before we went we filled out forms which meant when we arrived, they were ready with suits the right size for our students. They all tried on two suits and they were really happy with what they came away with, one of the students with an Armani suit. They even got bags for their work. When leaving they were also given money to take up the hems of their trousers and told where they can get free haircuts. It was a great experience.”

For more information on the Career Ready programme or to be part of the next cohort please contact Betty Benjamin on BBenjamin@conel.ac.uk

In partnership with Islington Council, first year business students at the Centre for Business, Arts and Technology have been given the opportunity to gain valuable marketing experience by pitching their marketing ideas for the promotion of Navigator Square’s first Vinyl Market.

Islington Council have turned to local colleges to inject youth and vitality into their efforts to support independent small businesses and markets. On May 1, representatives from the Inclusive Economy Team at Islington Council attended a workshop at the centre to explain the vinyl market project and the council’s aims. Students will be expected to develop a logo and a campaign to promote the vinyl market that will take place on Navigator Square, Archway on 30 June. The guest speakers pointed out that vinyl records have seen a 407% sales increase in the last four years, and identified Navigator Square as the perfect venue to host a vinyl market.

“These days, it’s much more convenient to go online and do your shopping. What we’ve found is that successful market stalls thrive on selling unique items and experiences that you can’t get elsewhere. A vinyl pressing has a warmth that you can’t capture as a download, and that presents an opportunity.”

Working in groups, the team with the best logo design and promotion plan will work with the council to put their plan into action. Judging the ideas took place on 15 May, and the winning team will be announced before 25 May. The winning team will receive tickets to a gig at the Islington Assembly Hall (Islington Council’s very own music venue) with all logos submitted being turned into keyrings for students to keep. All students are invited to play a part in the Vinyl Market by running a merchandise stall on the day of the event, Sunday 30 June.

Market Development Officer Parris Langridge supports the growth of markets in the borough as the Council aims to keep things local and affordable. “We do hope the students take something from this and come along to the market. This project is the idea of colleague, Barry Causton, and we hope to see it continue after the competition. Getting students from creative colleges involved in potentially creating a new market is great.

“It’s a learning process for us, too. I’m taking something back from the students that will help in my work, finding out what’s relevant to them. I see a lot of fresh ideas and a positive attitude, which is nice to see.”

Business lecturer Maxine French said: “The students have enjoyed working on it. It’s brought out their creative sides. They have the opportunity to design think through a project from concept to implementation. The fact that it’s a competition and with the possibility to win and have their logo made is getting them to work well together in teams.”

The project follows a move to include vocational activity in all business assessments at the Centre for Business, Arts and Technology as the college cements existing relationships with local enterprises. Business students recently benefitted from pitching practice with the London Village Network and the Big Alliance, based at the centre. Ten students also had the opportunity to work with Nationwide and creative agency VCCP on an Ideas Foundation sponsored marketing project.

On Tuesday 7 May, our Sixth Form College ‘Open Mic’ night made a spectacular comeback, filling out the main hall for an afternoon of music, poetry and comedy.

The Sixth Form College offers a range of academic qualifications, while also promoting a number of enrichment activities. Students are encouraged to create their own societies if they do not already exist.

Following on from a similar event for LGBT+ History month back in February, first year A Level student and organiser Harry O’Connell has developed the Open Mic project into a recurring show, opening its doors for the first time in April.

“We organised the first event in February with a bake-sale tied in and donated the proceeds to an LGBT+ charity. A week later, I got involved in the CANDI talent show, which opened my eyes to how fun performing is to do – but also to watch.

“I started thinking about setting up my own open mic, the point being to create a space where people could come and perform anything. The last two events have been a huge success, and it’s growing from strength to strength as we all become more confident.”

The event itself ran for a couple of hours during some downtime after lessons. A large crowd of students seemed happy to put down revision books for a moment to get involved in supporting friends and newcomers. During the show, host Harry acknowledged that some performers were new to the stage, practising new material for the first time.

“The event is made for anybody to come along and perform. Whether it’s their first time or their fifth, it doesn’t really matter to me,” Harry explained. “Quite a lot of my friends come along, but it’s been good to see people I don’t know contributing, too. That’s something I’m really proud of.

“We’re marketing the event as widely as we can, and the intention of that is to get new people to come along and perform with us, definitely.”

Student Services Youth Worker, Yasmin Whittaker Khan, offered support, praising the students for their ambition to create a new enrichment activity themselves:

“The open mic events allows students the space to share their art forms in a relaxed environment. It’s been wonderful to see participants’ confidence building over the sessions, and they have truly taken ownership of the space to explore and express.

“Having enrichment space for this activity has given the students a feeling of being valued and a sense of community. Each event we see someone new emerge from the back of the hall. They often start reluctant, but their peers encourage them to go on and perform.
“Once they’re on stage, they sparkle.”

A warm and inclusive environment, the show was a great opportunity for students of all creative backgrounds to learn a bit about themselves in front of an audience, with the full support of their comrades behind them.

As well as running a vast range of activities, clubs and events like this open mic gig, the Sixth Form College runs over 30 A Level courses for 16-18 year olds. Every year, hundreds of our students pass their A levels with us and progress to university, apprenticeships or full-time work.

Staff and students from Westminster Kingsway College have been online and TV stars recently, with Chef Lecturer Miranda Godfrey lending her expertise to a Channel 5 documentary, and Head of Faculty for Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Business, Terry Tinton blogging about our unique Young Chef’s Academy Saturday school.

Inside the Savoy on Channel 5

WestKing’s highly-regarded School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts in Victoria was co-founded over 100 years ago by the French culinary legend Auguste Escoffier. Before he helped create our culinary school, Escoffier had been drafted in by world-famous Hotelier Cesar Ritz to improve the kitchens and the quality of the food served in his new Savoy hotel in London. Escoffier introduced a military-style discipline and allocation of roles to the Savoy – transforming the kitchens (and the Savoy’s fortunes) and laying the foundations for the way pretty much all modern restaurant kitchens work today.

The Channel 5 series Inside The Savoy: London’s Most Famous Hotel, pays tribute to Escoffier’s role in revolutionizing the Savoy’s dining experience and for the programme the programme makers interviewed Westminster Kingsway Chef Lecturer Miranda Godfrey and filmed our students in action at our School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts.

Miranda has known food historian Dr. Annie Gray – who also features in the Channel 5 programme – for about a year, since they collaborated on a BBC Two programme about Queen Victoria’s wedding to Prince Albert. Miranda told us: “Annie recommended they [the programme makers] come and film me and our students. At that point the producer didn’t know the association of Escoffier with the college, so they were very keen to get this included.

“It’s all very exciting as I have learnt so much, but also been able to include students and enhance their knowledge of culinary history.”

You can watch the whole programme on My5, Channel 5’s catch-up service – the part that features Auguste Escoffier, Miranda and the college starts at 14 mins 30 seconds.

Miranda is also set to feature in a new one-off ITV documentary – Victoria’s Palace, to be broadcast on ITV, on Monday 13 May at 9pm.  in the programme, Trevor McDonald and Julie Etchingham will “…discover how Queen Victoria transformed Buckingham Palace from an unloved, unfinished and unfurnished building into the home of Monarchy.”

Cooking Up a Career Blog

Meanwhile, in his blog Cooking Up a Career at Westminster Kingsway College on the Edge Foundation website, our Head of Faculty for Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Business, Terry Tinton writes about our Young Chef’s Academy course for school-age children. Since it started in 2003, the Academy has given 900 young people the ideal grounding in the culinary arts and for many has been their introduction to a successful career in the industry.

As Terry explains in the blog: “We hear so much about graduates being unemployed or over-qualified in the jobs they are doing – this is not the case for the graduating chefs on our full-time courses because they all go on to have fulfilling and lucrative careers.”

Read the whole blog here.

Since February, CONEL has been running a Women into Transportation and Engineering (WiTnE) programme, in partnership with TFL in support of the international ‘Women Into STEM’ movement.

According to the National College for High-Speed Rail, women account for just 9% of the UK’s engineering workforce and only 4% of rail engineers, so there is a clear need to encourage more women into the sector.

The WiTnE programme was organised alongside blue-chip railway and engineering companies Siemens, Arriva Rail, Thales, Telent and Morson Group and is providing women with invaluable opportunities in the industry. 43 women came to our initial information session day; 22 of whom started and successfully completed a two-week employability programme to give them the skills they need to prepare for work. Being on the course gave each learner a guaranteed work placement with a nominated employer, relevant to their sector of interest. 

All learners who attended their work placements have been guaranteed interviews with their employers should they want full-time work at a later date. The event was widely regarded as a success by students and employers alike. Two learners from the cohort were even fast-tracked to the second round of interviews in their applications with Arriva Rail. And Arriva Rail was so impressed by their CONEL students that they are in discussions with CCCT, our Apprenticeship training arm, to recruit six new apprentices.

Nicola Sophia from Transport for London (TfL) said: “I would like to congratulate CONEL and all of the partners for the successful delivery of the WiTnE pre-employment programme. The candidates were all very pleased with their work placements.

“The candidates completed the programme with a greater appreciation of the transportation and engineering sectors, and the opportunities that wait for all our students, regardless of gender.”

We plan to run a similar themed programme 2-3 times a year with TfL, with the next one focusing on helping more people from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds get jobs in the transportation industry.

With women so underrepresented in construction and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) roles generally, CONEL has made the recruiting of women to our courses a priority. Our free short courses, in particular, have proved to be a very accessible way for women to get into these subjects.  And with specialist free “Women into…” courses in carpentry & joinery, brickwork, and painting & decorating still enrolling for available for May and June, there are more opportunities for women to start their careers by learning with CONEL.

In a first for the travel industry, Westminster Kingsway College has run a conference to bring the industry and college students together, to boost recruitment and enhance students’ understanding of the trends and issues facing the travel and tourism sector.

At the conference, held at the college’s Victoria Centre in central London on Thursday 2nd May, travel and tourism students from Brooklands College, the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London and Westminster Kingsway, heard from speakers from ABTA, Tui, BA, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Virgin Holidays.

The students, who all aspire to work in travel and tourism roles, got invaluable insights into the hundreds of exciting jobs available to them; as well as the industry’s class-leading work on managing emergency situations; and the very topical issue of how the industry can make travel more sustainable. And Lee Hayhurst from Travel Weekly magazine led a session on the key issues facing the industry.

The travel and tourism sector makes an immense contribution to the UK economy – in 2016 alone, that contribution was a staggering £217 billion. And, according to ABTA, the industry’s trade body, the industry employed around 1.7 million people in 2012, equivalent to around 5.8% of the UK’s workforce.

With recruitment of new staff always a priority for companies, the conference also gave students the chance to network with possible future employers and find out more about the range of jobs they could do. Hundreds of different roles are filled every year, like travel agents; event managers; concierge and guest services roles in hotels and holiday centres; airline flight crew; tour guides; jobs on cruise ships from navigation and engineering to entertainers, chefs and catering staff; jobs in airports, including ground crew and customer services; and many more.

Lorraine Hewett, Westminster Kingsway College’s Programme Manager for Travel, Tourism and Business, said: “We’re rightly proud of our travel and tourism courses and of the growing number of our ex-students who are making their way in this most rewarding of industries.

“With the UK still poised to leave the EU later this year, there is a growing urgency for travel and tourism companies in the UK to secure a pipeline of suitable staff.”

“Every year, travel companies are looking for new staff to work for them, and with the UK still poised to leave the EU later this year, there is a growing urgency for travel and tourism companies in the UK to secure a pipeline of suitable staff. These employers also need the reassurance that their new recruits are trained and ready to work, so it’s our mission to ensure that our students have a ‘line of sight’ to the industry and that we deliver courses that are up-to-date and relevant to employers. This is why we’ve run this conference today.

Vicki Wolf, ABTA’s Education Manager said: “Westminster Kingsway College, along with two other colleges and 12 universities, are an ABTA Education Partner. We aim to build strong links between our Education Partners and ABTA Members and so we were thrilled to support Westminster Kingsway College with their first student travel conference.”

Grace Tuffery is a former WestKing travel student, who now works for BA. She took time out of her jet-setting job to speak at the conference and told us: “I am based at Heathrow airport and I travel the world with BA, working on different planes including the double-decker Airbus A380 and the Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner. I’ve been to dozens of places like Johannesburg, Singapore and Sydney and I love my job. I learned so much at Westminster Kingsway which really prepared me for my career and it was lovely to be able to come back today to chat to students and share my experiences with them.”

“The Sad Club is a play about being young.” False. It’s a play about being human, feeling one’s way around the awkward tangle of life. The play was commissioned for the National Theatre’s Connections Festival about dealing with anxiety, and has had a string of performances up and down the country. On 4 April 2019, it was the turn of City and Islington College students to give their interpretation.

“I wrote this play with the idea of getting young people to think about the things that tripped me up in my twenties in terms of pursuing my happiness.” says playwright Luke Barnes. “If we get young people to think about reimagining their relationship with competition or love or escaping when they’re young, maybe they’ll have a better chance of being happy in their twenties.”

At the 3pm showing for students and staff, ahead of the later performance for National Theatre Staff, it makes a difference. The pressure to get it right in front of family and friends has a different feel to talking to a room full of strangers. But the cast were entirely engaged in their reality, cycling through a series of skits in one fluid motion. No live performance is an easy task, but the sketch-based organisation of the play is tricky to get right in one take. 

A lot can be said about the music – written by Adam Pleeth – and lighting and props, which gave tone to an otherwise simple set. All actors played a part in giving life to their short story, the figurative spotlight allowing individual differences between students to flourish.

The Sad Club is a play about being human; it’s about learning to laugh at one’s insecurities and misfortunes. ‘Amor fati’, they call it: to love your fate, whatever the outcome. The overriding narrative is don’t overthink it — it tells us there’s more to life than ‘fitting in’, whether that be to impress your peers, your family, or yourself. There’s a reason why the play is built to be funny in an ironic, lack-of-self-awareness kind of way. ‘It doesn’t always go to plan,’ it seems to say, ‘but sometimes that’s okay.’ And when it isn’t okay, well, sometimes it’s okay to be sad too. A story that relies on its cast to explain the many dimensions of angst, illness, depression and self-degradation, the cast received a deserved applause for their efforts in rehearsal over the last several months. 

On 24 April, ten Business – Level 3 Extended Diploma students from the Centre for Business, Arts and Technology found themselves in Victoria, pitching their best ideas to the world’s largest building society.

Organised via creative education charity Ideas Foundation, the students were selected to represent the college at the VCCP offices in Victoria, pitting their creative concepts against other colleges up and down the country. The international creative agency has a diverse and impressive portfolio spanning from Compare the Market to O2, Cadbury to easyJet. Currently, the company is working with Nationwide on their #OnlineHate campaign, and staff gave their Wednesday afternoon to our students to impart wisdom.

Hailing from Islington, Ideas Foundation was set up in 2000 by Robin Wight, and works to provide young people with industry experience. Project Leader Leonia Goromba explained: “we partner with creative agencies and work to give students from disadvantaged backgrounds an opportunity to experience what ‘creative industry’ is. It’s a bit of hands-on work experience.”

Founder Robin Wight was described as an “eccentric and passionate” man with fifty years of ideas in advertising. “The thing is that we are all still learning,” he told us. “[The students] all have a very interesting idea, and are just finding the way to get it out, with a nudge from us.”

The event followed on from a workshop in which City and Islington College students competed amongst themselves for a place on the away day. Those who made it through to the second stage could then develop their initial idea further – with expert help from top advertising specialists at VCCP, Ideas Foundation and Nationwide. The brief, originally given to VCCP, was amended for a younger target audience and asked students to create a campaign tackling online abuse. This falls into Nationwide’s philanthropic ethos, and follows on from their ‘Together Against Hate’ work with Channel 4.

“We’ve seen some great ideas today,” Assistant Advertising Manager at Nationwide, Darragh Hall, fed back. “As a brand, it’s really good to work with schools and get a fresh perspective to see their ideas and maybe get a new take on what we’re sending out at the moment.

“The kind of channels that we’re looking at more and more are just what’s normal to them. Stuff that would have been new for us will be part of their daily experience. It’s great to get that perspective and find out how they like to be communicated with.”

Student, Dominique White, followed on, saying, “It’s really a great opportunity to have the chance to work directly with people with such experience. For people like me, I’m happy to have experience in something I want to do in the future. It’s let me know what life might be like, and to know that this is something I want to continue with.

“I’ve realised that advertising is not as simple as it seems. Lots of companies and team effort is involved in realising a project like this. It’s not a one man show, and you have to integrate different people’s creative strengths into all the different areas.”

The event was attended by Business lecturer Maxine French and Employability & Skills Coordinator, Sherwyn Atkins. The City and Islington College staff were pleased by the opportunity for students to gain relevant vocational experience in their sector of choice: “I think it’s provided a window into the industry that they maybe wouldn’t have otherwise experienced,” Sherwyn said. “It’s allowed them to understand that this is a viable and accessible career. Having spoken to professionals here, they now know the work that’s required to get here, but also the qualifications that are required. I think today has raised aspirations.”