Walsall College, in conjunction with Roland DG’s Academy and Metamark, recently showcased their vehicle wrapping skills expertise to a global audience, when the UK hosted the world’s greatest skills competition, WorldSkills London 2011.

The WorldSkills London 2011 Competition took place over four days, from 5 – 8 October.   It is one of the biggest events ever to be held at ExCeL London, and saw over 1,000 of the most skilled young people from all corners of the globe battling it out in 46 different skills, competing to be crowned the best of the best in their chosen skill. Showcase colleges and training providers were present to inspire the audience and help them to look at the endless possibilities for their future jobs and careers.  So popular and high profile is the event that David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Vince Cable all took time to come along and visit.

During the event, Metamark MD-7 was being used to wrap a Honda ACCORD car, using the skills of students trained within the Roland DG Academy at Walsall College who are on the level 2 and 3 sign making apprenticeship programme with the college.   

The Roland DG Academy offers a wide range of hands-on, practical training courses and workshops for the sign and graphic arts industries, with the courses on offer ranging from vehicle wrap, to software training such as PhotoShop and SignLab, plus hands-on application skills workshops.

Gillian Montanaro, Head of Marketing for Roland DG, stated: “The Roland DG Academy is our hidden gem.  Roland DG is known for manufacturing high quality wide format printers, but also offers this fantastic training facility for sign-makers, graphics producers and beyond, with a range of high quality and affordable courses tailored specifically for those working in wide format digital print.”

Andrew Evans, Commercial Academy Manager at Walsall College said: “To be part of an event which recognises skills at the very highest level is truly aspirational and our students rose to the occasion to put on a truly spectacular show.  We are thrilled that our students had the opportunity to showcase their talents at WorldSkills London 2011. It's fantastic for them to be part of such prestigious event and gain recognition for all their hard work”.