Liam Ferriday, a former student of Burton Borough School in Newport, is on a level three media course at Telford College.
He applied for a four-day work placement at Spotify, and was one of around 60 students from schools and college across the UK to be accepted.
Liam, from Muxton, says he hopes the placement will be a stepping-stone towards his dream career in the media industry, where he hopes to become a screenwriter or director.
“Having such a huge global company like Spotify on my CV will really stand out, and hopefully give me a real edge and advantage when applying for jobs in the future,” he said.
“I’m a Spotify user, so having the chance to come up with an idea that audiences could potentially access as part of the placement was really fun.”
The work placement was carried out over the Google Meet platform, with Liam working in a group of 10 students to create either an audio or video 30 second sponsorship advert for the Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
“We weren’t actually making the advert; we were workshopping a concept and creating a pitch for the people running the work experience,” Liam said.
“It gave us an insight into the world of digital marketing and advertising – something that really drew me to this opportunity in the first place.
“Everyone there was easy to talk to and passionate about the task. Communication, team building and teamwork were such valuable skills to practice.”
Liam initially enrolled on A level media, film and law courses at Telford College, but says he is delighted to have changed to the vocational route.
“I switched because I wanted to explore the practical side of the media industry, rather than the theory.
“I had a friend already on the creative media course who explained everything he was learning and experiencing, and that sounded a lot more like what I was hoping to get from my college experience.
“I am currently making a stop motion Tim Burton-esque short film. I’ve always wanted to write stories and show them off, so getting to do that with my college course has been incredible to experience.
“I really think having such a big name like Spotify on my CV will help me get a foot in the door in the industry so I can work my way up to my dream career.”
Liam said he was originally drawn to Telford College by the wide range of courses on offer. When he completes his course, he is considering either an apprenticeship in media or digital marketing, a media course, or freelance video editing.
“The work experience which my Telford College studies have made possible for me will really come in handy for making connections, networking and getting my foot in the door with more companies.
“I hope it will allow me to acquire the skills needed to secure a job, so an employer might feel there is less training required for me to get started right away.”
