October’s winner

Nicola Davis is taking a Level 2 Certificate in Design and Craft: Picture and Frame Restoration, at the London School of Picture and Frame Restoration. Nicola is originally from South Africa and currently works in publishing. She enjoys going to galleries and exhibitions in her spare time.

What do you intend to do once you’ve finished the course?
I hope to continue on to a second year of study at the school, and then would like to pursue a career in conservation/restoration.

What are you enjoying about the course?
I very much enjoy the practical nature of the course, learning about new materials and techniques, and putting them to use. The course has also made me look at paintings and frames in a different way and given me a greater understanding and enjoyment of them.

Describe a typical day.
Four days a week I work at a publishing company in North London, with some evenings spent doing homework or research. On Tuesdays the course starts at 9.30am, usually with notes and discussions on the history and nature of certain materials, and periods in art history. Then we work on practical exercises before breaking for lunch, which we have together as a class. The afternoon is spent on practical work – cleaning and repairing, re-touching paintings, gilding frames.

How has the City & Guilds bursary helped you?
The City & Guilds bursary has helped me enormously. It has enabled me to embark on a course of study which I am thoroughly enjoying and which I now hope very much to turn into my new career.
 

November’s winner

Simon Edmond is training at Falmouth Marine School, taking a City & Guilds qualification in Boatbuilding and Yacht Maintenance, Level 2. Simon taught diving all around the world for 12 years but wanted to settle down with a trade. His granddad suggested boatbuilding. Simon is being supported by the Shipwrights’ Company.

What do you intend to do once you’ve finished the course?
Look for work in the boat/yacht industry.

What are you enjoying about the course?
Learning about wood and working with it.

Describe a typical day.
I start in the workshop at 9am and work on one of the curriculum pieces. These range from a drawer to an oar, mast and stem sections. After lunch, more of the same. One day a week we cover theory, ranging from how to cut wood to how to make a fibreglass hull.

How has the City & Guilds bursary helped you?
It has taken some of the financial pressure off me, allowing me to concentrate on studying.

December’s winner

Jo James is at Kidderminster College studying for the Level 2 Certificate in Electrotechnical Technology – Installation (Buildings and Structures). She is a member of a motorbike club. Helping out at the clubhouse has allowed her to chat to qualified electricians who are also members of the club. She likes the idea of being an electrician because it’s not only a manual job but a thinking one too.

What do you intend to do once you’ve finished the course?
Completion of the course will enable me to find employment in the electrician field. However, I intend to continue next year on the level 3 course as well to become a qualified electrician.

What are you enjoying about the course?
Definitely the practical element, actually using my hands to put the theory into practice enables me to learn quicker and with more confidence.

Describe a typical day.
First half of the morning is totally theory tuition, after lunch I am involved with practical assignments, learning how to use the tools of the trade, installing electrical circuits by many different methods in mock rooms.

How has the City & Guilds bursary helped you?
As I spend most of my week at college, I have not been able to work full time. The bursary, in conjunction with a part-time job, has supported me financially throughout the course, it has allowed me the time to study, and I believe the high grades I have been receiving at college are due to the support I’ve had from the bursary. Instead of putting my foot on the bottom rung of the ladder, I feel like I have climbed halfway up!

January’s winner

Liam Bourke loves sports and is a fitness instructor by trade. He’s studying for a Certificate in Adult Education at Liverpool Community College so he can teach in higher education. He likes meeting new people, helping them to identify their goals and helping them work towards them.

What do you intend to do once you’ve finished the course?
Move onto higher education teaching – recently I’ve had a job offer with the University of South Carolina in America to finish my PhD and do lecturing. The City & Guilds qualification I’m taking was a significant advantage to my application as the university were able to see that I had a commitment to teaching and they commented on how favourably they viewed the fact that I had taken it.

What are you enjoying about the course?
The opportunity to teach local people qualifications and the sense of achievement that comes with that.

Describe a typical day.
Mondays: Get up in the morning early to avoid the traffic to Liverpool. Get into Liverpool Community College for 9.30 and lectures begin. The 7407 lectures last until 3.30. Get home around 4.30pm and start on course work that we have been set or start planning lessons that need to be delivered that week.

How has the City & Guilds bursary helped you?
The City & Guilds award has been very helpful to me as it has covered my travelling expenses and has also helped me buy materials that I need to complete my course.

February’s winner

Ricci Whitmore is taking a level 2 course in Furniture Production at South Kent College. Ricci worked as an electrician for 12 years but had to stop when he became ill with Fibromyalgia. Then his wife fell ill – he has been her sole carer for three years. He says to others who might be thinking about bursaries: ‘Please apply for the bursary. I applied and never really thought I would receive it. Please take that chance, who knows where it may lead.’ Ricci is supported by the Basketmakers’ Company.

What do you intend to do once you’ve finished the course?
To return to some form of work. I hope to work for myself producing children’s furniture and restoring furniture for myself and to sell on at auctions.

What are you enjoying about the course?
I am enjoying making things and the fact that I can take a piece of wood and end up with a finished item, be it a chessboard, plinth or cabinet.

Describe a typical day.
I am my wife’s full time carer so she comes first. I am myself a sufferer of fibromyalgia, I also have three dogs, two Siberian huskies and one Great Dane so they have to be cared for. And now thanks to the City & Guilds bursary I can do some woodwork!

How has the City & Guilds bursary helped you?
It has enabled me to ensure I am able to attend classes, as well as being able to hopefully complete both disciplines offered on my course – Furniture Production and Restoration.

March’s winner

James Brammer is taking a course in plumbing at Leeds College of Building. James loves the outdoors and is passionate about the environment – one of the reasons he wanted to be a plumber is to help save water.

What do you intend to do once you’ve finished the course?
I intend to apply for the NVQ 3 in Plumbing. Getting on the course depends on finding a CORGI registered firm to work with.

What are you enjoying about the course?
I enjoy both the practical and theoretical side of the course. It is good to be doing something that directly relates to my work.

Describe a typical day.
My typical day? Well, I do not have a typical day, every day is different. My morning would start with me sorting my day’s schedule out, if I haven’t organised it the day before, and then I have to pack up what I require for the day, trying not to forget anything! My day could either be spent at one site if I am working on a large job, a bathroom or pipe work for central heating or something. Or it might be driving around for lots of small jobs, Mrs Smith and her blocked sink, leaky tap or faulty immersion heater. Personally I prefer to be in one place, I feel I get more done and I am not stuck in traffic for the whole of the day. In the evening I might have a quote to go round to look at, or it might be a college night and I won’t get home until 9.15pm.

How has the City & Guilds bursary helped you?
The bursary meant that I was sure that I would be able to afford the course. Things for me were a little uncertain last year and after getting the bursary I could relax and concentrate on the course. Doing an evening course two nights a week on top of working full-time is hard enough without getting stressed as well.

April’s winner

Sharon Young is taking a Level 3 Certificate in Embroidery by distance learning with Opus School of Textiles. Sharon, who originally trained as a textile printer, has always been interested in working as a clothes designer and maker. She loves all sorts of embroidery. Sharon is being supported by the Drapers’ Company.

What do you intend to do once you’ve finished the course?
Continue with the City & Guilds Diploma in Embroidery which concentrates on developing the individual’s personal style and working practices using the skills they’ve already learned.

What are you enjoying about the course?
The structured learning programme, which will help to build a cohesive knowledge base from which I can confidently experiment with new ideas. I particularly enjoyed the recent visit to the British Museum, where we were encouraged to sketch artefacts and then carry the sketches forward into design and stitch with the help of specialist tutors.

Describe a typical day.
I try to start my day around 6am so that I can get the daily chores done by about 10am. I can then settle down to my latest project, which at the moment is interpreting the sketches of the Cycladic goddess figures (British Museum visit) into a stitched piece. At lunchtime I walk my dog in the woods and think about any project problems. In the afternoon I spend time on the computer refining ideas. The evening is usually spent hand stitching. The most important part of my day is when my husband, an amateur photographer, and I swap creative notes on our daily achievements.

How has the City & Guilds bursary helped you?
It has paid for the fees required to do the course at the centre of my choice, Opus School of Textiles, who approach embroidery from a solid art and design foundation. By the end of my studies at Opus I am convinced that I will have found my voice as a textile artist.

May’s winner

Than Htut is taking the Certificate in Delivering Learning at Richmond Adult Community College. Than has a passion for education. He has Burmese education qualifications but wants to get English ones to learn about the education system here. Than is being supported by the City & Guilds Association (CGA).

What do you intend to do once you’ve finished the course?
After this stepping stone award, I intend to find the work placement to continue to take the Certificate in Further Education Teaching, Stage 1.

What are you enjoying about the course?
I have learnt many things from the course contents, classmates, the experienced tutor (Mr Eddie Ugalde) and many reference books as well. I know more specifically about important principles and theories of delivering learning and training, teaching cycle, assessment, resources, learning styles, learning programmes and so on.

Describe a typical day.
I use most of my day studying previous lessons, writing down questions to ask the course tutor, doing assignments, reading reference books to extend my knowledge horizon and get a broader picture of the subject. I also look for career prospects in the further education sector.

How has the City & Guilds bursary helped you?
Because of the City & Guilds bursary, I can concentrate only on my learning and studying. I can take time to read reference books and discuss them with my tutor in the next session. I can also take time to reflect on what I have learned so far and evaluate my activities. I am aware of the areas for development and the actions required to improve my performance.

June’s winner

Artist Hugh Gillan is currently taking a City & Guilds qualification in Picture Restoration at Richmond College. Hugh took a four-year degree at Glasgow Art School and has been painting and exhibiting since.

What do you intend to do once you’ve finished the course?
I would like to continue to the next stage, the Certificate in Picture Conservation and Restoration, after which I aim to become a freelance picture restorer in conjunction with my painting practice.

What are you enjoying about the course?
I am enjoying learning new skills and looking in depth at the technical aspects of painting. As a fine artist I find it interesting to take a step back and learn the history of how paintings were constructed.

Describe a typical day.
A typical day would be in the morning concentrating on the written and theoretical part of my course whereby we look at and discuss such things as the history of pigments, canvas etc, after which we work on our individual projects which are hands-on practical restoration projects.

How has the City & Guilds bursary helped you?
By paying my course fees the bursary has financially allowed me to continue with the course which otherwise would have been very difficult. Having the bursary will also allow me to save and buy other essential materials for the course.