Hearing from past students is always fantastic. We love to find out what they’ve been up to since leaving MK College and hearing them reflect on their time with us. Preparing students for the world of work is very important to us as a college.

Work experience, industry collaborations and live project briefs are just some of the ways that our students get the opportunity to develop their professional skills before entering employment or continuing their study.

That’s why we were thrilled to hear from past Graphic Design student, Rachel Sharp, whose work experience with Rightmove’s design studio while at College, turned into a full-time job offer!

Rachel’s Story

‘I studied Level 3 in Graphic Design at Milton Keynes College which I then continued for an extra year to complete my HND. Looking back at my time on the course, I can honestly say this was the first stepping-stone to an ongoing Graphic Design career.

This course allowed me a great opportunity (which I am still very grateful for), to take part in work experience with Rightmove, with who the College have a partnership.  I was given the chance to work closely with Rightmove’s in-house Design Studio and used this time to take in and learn as much as possible.

This eventually led to an internship possibility which I was fortunate to land, then a full-time position on the Rightmove Graphic Design team. Milton Keynes College was the beginning of my journey and the reason I was able to gain the opportunities I did.

The years I studied at the college not only prepared me in my skill-set but also helped to mould me as a person and to equip me for what was to come. Thank you for the continued support of my tutors who encouraged me throughout.’

We caught up with MK College Graphic Design lecturer, Dan Vine, to hear more about the fantastic working relationship MK College have with Rightmove and how it continues to benefit out students.

I remember going to the Rightmove offices with a view to firming up some work experience for my students and upon walking into the design studio, seeing around 5 of my past students! Alongside the Design Studio Manager at Rightmove, Nicky Pinto-Perez (also a past MK College student), we put in place a period of work experience that our students could take part in. This involves working on live briefs with Rightmove’s design studio, for two days a week which lasts for a few months. During this time, the team at Rightmove assess our student’s skills and offer Internships to students who stand out. These Internships can then lead on to full-time positions – Rachel Sharp being a great example.

Over the past year, Rightmove have been excellent at providing the same work experience opportunities to our students virtually. Students are put through their paces and assigned to live briefs once their skillset has been assessed. This provides our students with a great deal of experience with things like printed posters and digital banners, providing them with excellent pieces for their portfolios once their placement has finished.

Graphic Design as an industry is constantly evolving and we’re redefining the subject with each academic year. Because of the great need for digital arts-based professionals, within arts-based and non-arts-based companies, I would always advocate that if you have a passion for design, the courses that we offer at MK College will give you a very realistic, vocational based foundation – more so than A Levels ever could. I think this stems from the fact that the people and tutors who teach our courses are all industry professionals themselves, so we set up our lessons to reflect a working design studio.

If you’d like to join our next cohort, work on live briefs and see where your studies could lead, why not explore our range of Creative and Digital Arts courses. As well as Graphic Design, there are pathways available in Fashion & Textiles, Photography, Performing Arts, Animation and many more. It’s time to turn your passion into a career.