Aberdeen College
Sector-leading and innovative practice in Promoting Employability in Visual
Communication and Photography
Aberdeen College is committed to ensuring that employability is at the hub of the curriculum and underpins progression pathways to work. The key theme of developing employability skills through links with industry is one which is cultivated across the curriculum and is fundamental to the Visual Communication and
Photography team’s approach to Learner Engagement.
Teaching staff from the Visual Communication and Photography team have used their extensive links within the sector to engage learners in meaningful work placements.
Learners are engaged in employment related activity through a wide variety of experiences, including: sponsorship; live briefs; competitions with prizes including internships; exhibitions judged by industry representatives; briefings by external agencies such as Business Gateway; trips and visits to nationally renowned studios; and talks by successful former students.
The approach encompasses a number of college programmes and the learner success rates and progress for these programmes are high. As a result of their engagement with local employers, learners develop their skills for work get themselves noticed by employers before they actually apply for jobs. In 2011/12 an increased number of learners went directly to employment with local agencies, often as a direct result of college based projects and contacts. For example, four students gained contracts with Atlas International, an e-learning design agency following a client-set brief unit. There are clear progression routes to university for those learners wishing to extend their study. For example, the Business School at RGU, offers a one year top up to degree for HND students interested in Commercial
Photography. Of the 17 enrolments for 2012-13, 16 had progressed from HND at
Aberdeen College.
The approach has also had a positive impact on teaching staff, who have developed their skills, particularly in entrepreneurship, in order to support learners.
Groups of school learners from S5 and S6 are also engaged and progress successfully on to either visual communication or photography HN study. College experience programmes are offered by way of pre-application tasters, and are very popular with pupils.