Deeside students on track for careers in music following inspirational visit to Spain

A group of Sound Engineering students from Coleg Cambria Deeside spent two weeks in Barcelona as part of an education and research programme.

In partnership with international careers organisation NexGen, based in the Catalan capital, the trip gave them access to experts in the sector and guidance on how to “take the next steps after college”.

Lisa Jansen from NexGen said: “We explored their skills, including what they are good at and what they enjoy doing, then they developed ideas on what the market needs before going into detail and putting together and presenting business models.

“We try to tailor every programme to the needs of the college and learning group, and we organised visits including to a local festival and to a sound engineering school, which included talks and an introduction to the industry, as well as interesting discussions on future challenges such as AI (Artificial Intelligence).”

The students also had an opportunity to go sightseeing and visit landmarks including Barcelona Zoo, the beach and to see the city from the air on a cable car ride.

Student Tash Bradshaw enjoyed the experience and said: “We came on this trip to learn more about music and gain new skills to further our careers, but it has been so much more than that and brought some of us out of our shells.

“We have also explored different cultures, and it’s had an impact on us overall as people.”

Fellow learner Cory Robinson added: “We learn a lot of technical skills in college so to look at setting ourselves up in business and how to break into the industry was very useful and will give us the knowledge to do that in the future.”

Cambria’s Curriculum Director of Technical Studies Julie Guzzo joined them in Spain and said the close links forged with NexGen and partner organisations overseas will continue to add value to the students’ educations.

She added: “As a college we are looking to provide more and more of these opportunities, to show the learners what is out there for them and that as a college our reach and place in further education in the UK and internationally is growing all the time.”