New Kitchen Design course opens its doors
The first course of its kind in the UK, a Foundation Degree in Kitchen Design, has just launched at Buckinghamshire New University. The course has attracted widespread support from across the kitchen business and industry leaders introduced the first cohort of students to key concepts on a residential study weekend at the university’s Conference Centre in Great Missenden, Bucks.
Roundhouse MD Craig Matson and Renee Mascari from the KBB National Training Group, along with many other leading kitchen industry figures, attended the inaugural weekend offering lectures on a wide range of subjects from an overview of the kitchen business, to sustainable materials.
The curriculum has been devised in a unique collaboration between academics and industry leaders in response to the need for more training in kitchen design. Students will learn online and also have the benefit of weekend residential courses. The three-year industry-led foundation degree will lead to a formal qualification and aims to increase the knowledge and skills of those working in the kitchen business.
The course is fully subscribed with some students holding bursaries, some sponsored and some there under their own steam. Roundhouse has sponsored one, who will gain valuable work experience working in our flagship showroom and head office in Wigmore Street London. Students on the course have come from the kitchen industry, related disciplines or are looking for a career change.
Roundhouse MD Craig Matson said, “We’re looking forward to formally recognising the professionalism of those entering the kitchen industry. Other disciplines already have degrees, Interior Design for example, and the kitchen industry, which contributes considerably to the UK economy, has lagged behind. This course will help remedy that.
Many applications for our scholarship came from those who already had degrees and their biggest problem was gaining work experience – they often found themselves in a Catch 22 situation – no work experience no job, no job no work experience. This course meets that need. It’s a collaboration between academics and kitchen industry leaders. Students will be learning skills on the job while studying.”
