Three students have begun training at Signal Radio, after starting a new radio production course at Stoke-on-Trent College.
Scott Dutton, aged 20, from Newcastle, Daniel Rigby, 17, and Dominic Bishop, 18, both from Stafford started to assist on the Saturday sports show at the station after impressing Signal bosses with their ability and enthusiasm.
The students were studying three days a week both at the college and at Signal as part of the Signal Media Academy and were put to the test producing interviews, photos and podcasts at the launch of the new science centre in Stoke.
Scott said: “I started doing some work at the station in 2009 as I went there on work experience from school, but realised if I wanted to make a career of radio and to progress I needed some qualifications, so I started at Stoke-on-Trent College.
“On the course we’ve been learning how to write news scripts, advertisement scripts, radio dramas, podcasts and all sorts and it’s been amazing. Now I’m helping on the sports show and Daniel and Dominic are working alongside me.
“I’d definitely recommend the academy course to others as the facilities and tutors are great. The environment you learn in is actually the one you will work in and you’re doing what you would actually do in the job.”
Signal’s senior programme controller, Chris Buckley, said: “We identified these three students quite quickly as having potential radio talent, so they’ve now started as interns with us and we are in the process of training them.”
Radio tutor Lee Beddow, from the performing arts team at Stoke-on-Trent College, added: “The students are at Signal through our Signal Media Academy and as a direct result of the course these three have been offered this opportunity.
“We are also investing more than £15,000 pounds with Signal to put a studio in place here at our Burslem campus, and once installed the students will develop a radio station for the college which anyone will be able to pick up online which will promote college events and things like that.”
The college is planning on running additional courses due to high demand, and will be running taster courses in January and April for anyone who wants learn the basics of presenting and editing.
Posted on Sunday, October 28th, 2012 at 5:25 pm by RadioToday UK