C.E.S. in association with Pulse College is proud to launch an exciting suite of new English Language, Music and Video Game courses with aim of attracting international students from all corners of the world. Students will get to choose from two different course combinations; English Language with Music Production or English Language with Video Game Development.

Having trained over 40,000 students, CES is a leading and award winning English Language School. Pulse College, based in Windmill Lane Recording Studios, have been leaders in creative media education for over 20 years. Their combined experience will provide international students with a dynamic, innovative and interactive learning experience.

Located in world famous Windmill Lane Recording, the English Language with Music Production Course will provide students with access to the latest technology, where they will create and mix music in a professional recording environment. The aim is to provide a practical hands-on course, giving students a real working understanding of what it takes to be a sound engineer and music producer. The English Language and Video Game Development Course focuses on four main areas, English language, programming languages, sound and music for computer as well as games and application development. Using the latest technology, participants will learn the processes required to create Video Games and i-Phone content. Both courses are designed with beginners in mind and require no prior knowledge in music or gaming. Courses are due to start on the 11th July and will run until 29th July.

Directors Naomi Moore from Pulse College and Justin from CES provide an insight into the collaboration and what is hoped this unique concept will bring to the colleges.

Q1. Every business has been affected by the recession what noticeable changes both positive and negative have you seen in the education sector?

Naomi Moore, Director, Pulse College/Windmill Lane Recording Studios: “From an education sector point of view, the recession has led to an increase in demand for college places, particularly in the area of creative arts. The traditional school or college leaver still applies, but there has also been a shift the demographic of the applicant, and their needs are different. There is a much greater need for re-skilling and up-skilling now, and people are using their change in circumstance to turn their passions into their career. Access to funding has been a negative aspect. It is far more difficult to secure student loans and structures urgently need to be put in place by the new government to address the situation. We have reacted to the economic downturn by offering realistic payment plans based on individual needs.”

Justin, Director of CES Language School Dublin: “The English Language sector is totally 100% export so the difficulties in Ireland do not really affect our business. We are much more affected by what happens in other countries. The main changes that I have seen are that there is not as much pressure on wage demands and some costs are coming down. This has allowed us to control costs and to stop having to increase charges. One of the greatest problems that we had was the year on year demands for pay and host family rises that the ever increasing costs in Ireland were causing. With this stopped we have more control. The prices in Dublin had passed the costs in London and we were pricing ourselves out of the market. The negative side is that Ireland is now seen as a risk country and it has had a lot of negative publicity overseas. Nearly every agent that I would deal with overseas is aware of Ireland’s financial difficulties and this has a negative impact on the overall sell-ability of programmes to Ireland.”

Q2. Education has been one of the quickest sectors to bounce back from this recession. What can you attribute to this recovery?

Naomi: “I feel it is because the employment landscape has changed. Since the industrial revolution, jobs in the banking or the legal professional were seen as a ‘safe job’ and people often chose those paths based on security as opposed to interest. Traditional industry no longer leads the way, digital media and the knowledge economy does. I honestly believe that it’s given people a totally different outlook on their futures and their livelihoods. The value, growth and reliance on all areas of digital media in our everyday lives has altered the perception of creative arts and its potential for lasting and rewarding careers. Digital media is the future, and people need to be educated, trained and up-skilled to be a part of it.”

Justin: “Our market is 100% export. Other countries are bouncing back quicker and this has helped us. I also see the switch happening. This happens when a recession hits. International Educational goes from being a luxury purchase to a necessity. Europe and Asia has a growing youth unemployment problem and parents want to invest in their children’s education and this helps English language training sector.  People will always invest in Education when times are tough as they see this as a way of helping get the better job in the future.”

Q3. What made you decide to come up with this innovative and proactive idea of collaborating with other colleges to develop more creative course to help attract more foreign students?

Naomi: “We initially expanded our programmes to cater for the skills shortages in various industries, in particular video game and media content production. It was also our intention to attract more international students and we engaged with Enterprise Ireland to assist us with this expansion to foreign markets. It was a logical step to partner with colleges abroad, who have knowledge and an established infrastructure. We are launching our first international college in India in September of this year. This will train students locally with transfer options for them to higher awards in our Dublin college. If we are to build up the knowledge economy in Ireland, attracting international students directly is also vital. We set about researching established international colleges which had built a reputation for excellence globally. It was also important to us that the pastoral care of international students is catered for and that there is a social and cultural element to all out programmers.”

Justin: “The market is changing and students are looking for something different. There is a need for English and creative media modules. There is a growing demand for animation / sound recording / games development and this is what is current. It seemed only natural to try to tap into this.”

Q4. How did this collaboration come about?

Naomi: “I was introduced to Justin through a contact in Enterprise Ireland who felt that, together, we could offer high level English language courses coupled with either a game or music production module, based in Windmill Lane Recording Studios. We met and a partnership felt right immediately. This was because the combination of language and creativity has a perfect symmetry, the reputation of CES worldwide is outstanding and Windmill Lane Recording is internationally recognised.”

Justin: “I had a meeting with Lucia Reynolds from Enterprise Ireland, she had met Naomi and thought that we could do things together. She introduced us and the rest as they say is history!! It was great meeting Naomi and to see her enthusiasm. We could both see how this could work and both had the same outlook as to how this could work. If you do not try it will never happen.”

Q5. What benefits do you feel these course collaborations will this have?

Naomi: “We share the same ethos; train to the highest standards and ensure students leave with quality, useful, work-ready skills. Collaborating allows us both to expand our student base and to offer more to the participant. International students will return to their home countries with a grasp of English, a creative skill and an insight into the culture and uniqueness of Ireland.”

Justin: “New products and new courses!!! I always want to innovate and to try something new. This is a new product for the market and it will be interesting to see what happens. It will take a bit of time for this to get to market and get it into some sale brochures as no one else is offering this product and it is new for all of us. I have sent the information to all of the Fáilte Ireland offices and we are hoping that it will also go to all of the Enterprise Ireland offices soon. This will help add profile to both Pulse College and also CES.”

Q6. What do international students have to do to sign up for these innovative courses?

Justin: “To book a course, or find further information, they simply need to visit www.ces-schools.com or call +353 1 671 4233. To find out more about Pulse College, and Windmill Lane Recording Studios, visit www.pulsecollege.eu“

 

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