"I’d been working at a firm for a bit and thought I should get a qualification so am doing 1 day at college and 4 days on site each week."
"We do theory and practical work at college – looking at how to do the preparations, ways to approach different jobs, put defects right, things that can be wrong with paint, mixing techniques – the sort of science behind the painting. To get the NVQ you have to be assessed during the year and take an exam, I’m on NVQ3 now and just coming to the end of college."
"When you first join they make sure you have the key skills you’ll need to do the course and give you help if you don’t."
"I’ve really enjoyed the painting competitions we go to. They are held nationally and regionally. I won the regional competition and then went on to come 2nd in the nationals."
"They judge you on techniques like accuracy, the method and way you approach a problem, which job to do first, it was great fun. We had to go away to another college to enter and the teachers came with us."
"College has been good and it has really helped being on site during the week as well. I plan to build up my experience with the firm and hopefully work my way up it."