Wooing Creative Students with Logic

Profiles in Success: Doncaster College

Doncaster College’s Faculty of Arts is gaining a competitive edge amongst student applicants by offering Apple certification in software used by creative professionals. One of the first Apple Authorised Training Centres for Education (AATCe) in Europe, Doncaster offers music technology students the chance to show future employers they have top-level skills in Logic Pro. Video and audio students at Doncaster will soon be offered Apple certification in Final Cut Pro, and photography students in Aperture.

“There’s no doubt that students applying for creative arts and technology courses are increasingly aware of the need to be qualified in industry-standard software to help them get the jobs they want”, says David Kirtlan, Deputy Head of the Faculty of Arts. “They see on our Web site that we are an AATCe, and often one of their first questions is ‘how do I get certified in Apple’s Pro Applications?’”

Doncaster College is a major provider of further and higher education in South Yorkshire, with 33,000 students enrolled on full-time and part-time courses in the current academic year. The Faculty of Arts includes the School of Intermedia and Performance Arts, and the School of Creative Arts. Both schools offer further education and degree courses in specialist areas, including art and crafts, animation, dance, fashion, film, music, photography and theatre.

The Faculty has a proud track record of placing graduates in employment or postgraduate study. It is also fiercely protective of its students’ creativity, and takes pride in challenging them through radical thought and work output.

“When they come through the door, most students on Music Technology courses, for example, want to be sound engineers”, says David Kirtlan. “We try to explain that there are lots of different career opportunities out there; basically wherever you hear sound there’s someone pushing buttons. The important thing is to open your mind and be properly skilled in order to be employable”.

Kirtlan and the Faculty staff recognise that Apple software is the tool of choice in many of the creative technology sectors where the college’s students are likely to look for jobs. So when he became aware of the AATCe programme, and its opportunities for staff training, he quickly embraced the chance it offered to deliver quality courses leading to Apple certification.

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