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my report from the roland academy
Just thought I’d update you all, I’ve been allowed to go to the academy again after the not so hot review of the last time I went. (well deserved as well!)
After asking and talking to Peter Kettle at length about the courses, as to what would be a good course, he said photo shop would suit me, as I don’t use it, (wouldn’t know how), as I’ve always used Sign lab and Corel draw, so with a bit of trepidation I booked the course. Its not cheap when you add it all up! travel, accommodation & course fees, hope it would be worth it. well here’s the brief review.Got to the Walsall academy on Wednesday morning, met the other 5 students, had a tour and settled in,the course started on time, with Marc Jenkins taking it. The problems I had with the last course were among others lack of structure to the course and bad preparation. What a difference this was. The course had a set structure and plan, with tests and review all the way through, it covered all of the basic contents of photo shop, which was great for me, but for anyone who was fluent in it, it was basic, but basic is what was needed, any questions that were raised were answered to the fullest, slightly going of subject a while then back on line, no questions went unanswered!. The atmosphere was that of learning, not a day out of the office. the emphasis was on the course not on a night out, again good.
The facilities at Roland Walsall are as ever Very good! Marc was very good tutor at this course, although he never said he knew it all, he was willing to find any answers to question that were asked, as he did when the course was finished, 2 days later he emailed me with some answers.
To sum up what do i now think?
The Photo Shop course is well worth the money paid and spent, no matter what level of your understanding of photo shop you will learn something!
Would I go on another course at Roland? YES, the vehicle wrap course seems to be the one to go on next.
Did I learn anything on the course? Yes. Lots but the biggest surprise is how similar Photo shop is to Corel photo paint, so learnt how to use both programs
Was i treated differently because i complained on the last course, no! I genuinely believe that it was a good value course and hats off to them for listening when then customer speaks.
Overall 9/10
If your interested in photo shop and are not sure about it, this is the course to go on. Should you stay at home and read a book? possibly but you will miss a lot of experience, and books give facts and are not that good at answering questionsHope this is of interest
Ian -
11 Replies
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Definitely of interest, thanks Ian.
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Glad!
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yeah i agree mate… thanks for taking the time to give us feedback on the second course Ian. much appreciated mate.
It’s not cheap, but i don’t think you can beat having an actual tutor. at the end of the day its tax deductible… I hear so many folk complain about wrap courses and the like being too expensive. personally, i don’t think so… how can you grudge paying a few hundred quid for a professional to take you by the hand and show you what has taken them years to learn?
anyway… glad to hear things were top notch at the academy… i will be venturing down to it myself in the new year some time. 😀 -
i went on a sign lab course up there. they’re place is grate marc was a very good tutor i think. i would also like to try the wraping course next.
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Cheers for that Ian……..I want to do a course now! 😀
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i beg to differ on the wrap course very basic and for beginners
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quote :‘i beg to differ on the wrap course very basic and for beginners’Hi Phil
Disappointed to hear you thought the course was to basic as you have posted elsewhere, I would only wish you had stayed for the second day as with most courses you do not start with the complicated and follow with basic info. the second day of the course is more technical and a full judgment can’t be made made until a full course is completed. Myself or Tony Prior at the Academy would me more than happy to supply anyone on UK signboards with a list of attendees with there permission as Full feed back forms are given out and the (I believe to be honest) opinions are very positive but I will let any future posts stand testament as to my training and the college facilities.
Ian I look forward to seeing you on the course and look forward to seeing you in the future to make your judgment
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Planning to attend in August if there’s room, Family situation a bit better now
Ian -
James,
I found the course a couple of months ago excellent. I have since successfully completed a few wraps with no come backs. The course was ideal for a person (such as myself) who didn’t have the knowledge or the confidence to complete such projects. If I attended the same course now I would think it was a bit more basic but only due to the training given at Walsall and my gained hand on experience at work. Well done mate, it was worth the money
Craig
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quote Phil Acko:i beg to differ on the wrap course very basic and for beginnersPhil,
what would you recommend then?
we attend courses to learn, if you thought it was for beginners, why go in the first place? if you are already an expert?
can you give James some advice?I for one would rate James as a top professional, in both his tuition and work, I have experience of both.
Peter
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Hi all,
Having just completed the vehicle wrap course last thursday and friday, I found it excellent !James Deacon must be one of the most professional people I’ve met in the sign industry, and I found his training second to none.
I’ve been on other wrapping days and demos, but James takes a different approach in his training, and the techniques he uses are different from many others, because he’s put a lot of thought into what he’s doing, and has a massive amount of experience in vehicle wrapping.
All in all, I’d happily recommend the roland wrap course.
cheers
joe
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