Students Impress With DVD Project
A group of four Walsall College students are currently working with local food and drink distribution company, A. F. Blakemore, to develop a training DVD for managers and staff.
The project is part of the College’s ‘Innovation Experience’, funded through the Working Neighbourhoods Fund by Walsall Council, to help and support local businesses innovate and young people to access unique work placement opportunities.
It aims to bring students and employers together from across the Borough to enhance skills development and organisational effectiveness. Students aged 17-24 are given the opportunity to develop a solution to a specific challenge or issue that a company faces, which will ultimately help the organisation grow.
The innovative DVD the students produce will allow A.F. Blakemore employees to interact and make decisions based on what they see. The target audience for the DVD is first line managers and the DVD should provide interactive case studies that can be used during training.
With support from Walsall College and A.F. Blakemore staff, the young people working on the project have developed a script which complies with legislation and highlights all the key elements of the company’s grievance procedure.
A number of scenarios will now be filmed, depicting both the positive and negative aspects of conflict resolution, allowing the DVD to take the route directed by the audience.
Kevin Smith, Work Placement Mentor at Walsall College said: “The project is going extremely well and the students have been using their innovative ideas and talents to address the challenge of creating an interactive DVD which meets the demands of the company. Students will be involved in all aspects of pre and post production and it is envisaged that this training tool can be linked to a training course and embedded into the company’s intranet in the future”.
Nick Hursthouse, Learning & Development Officer, A.F. Blakemore added: “As a company A.F. Blakemore is committed to making a significant positive impact in the communities we serve and a main focus of our community programme is to support the education curriculum.
The students creating the DVD are currently looking for actors to star in the production and are seeking out local talent. They are looking for males and females, aged 25 60 with good acting skills. Those interested in auditioning for a role in the DVD should contact Matt Reynolds – mreynolds@walsallcollege.ac.uk
