Cole Vyas

Developing key skills for my industry

When I did business at A-Level, I realised that Marketing was one of the central functions of a business. If you don't have the customers in the first place - which marketing brings in - you don't have a business.  

I chose USW because of it being local to me. Living at home and being a commuter student means I’m saving money. And where I am in Caerphilly, I've still got the benefits of having a social life. I'm 10 minutes away from Pontypridd and Treforest and I'm 15 minutes away on the train to Cardiff. I can go out with my mates, go out on all the socials - so it's the best of both worlds. I also joined the USW Cricket Club for a bit. 

My favourite part of the course so far has been meeting different people. Especially the group that I'm with. I've met people from Wales, the rest of the UK and international students. Everyone has different views, and a lot of ideas on how to do marketing. We'll get given a brief and you'll go down so many rabbit holes and explore so many ways of doing things. Hearing different perspectives and opinions has been quite good.  

The Marketing course has really helped me develop my teamwork skills - learning how to work with different individuals, not just the same people all the time. We’ve done lot of group projects, especially in the early years, which was great. Also, my communication skills - some people don't take in information the same way as others might. 

We also have access to lots of useful facilities here. Things like the Startup Stwdio, USW Enterprise, the Library and working with the Careers advisors. They can help you and support you with your direction. It doesn't matter where you're at with your career goals, whether you have any idea or no idea, they're always there to help. 

Why Network75 at USW and advice to future students

I chose to study at the University of South Wales because of the Network75 apprenticeship route that it offered me. It was one of the only universities locally that allowed me to study Marketing, graduate debt-free and have a job at the end of it.  

I first heard about Network75 from a USW talk at my college. The scheme has been running over 20 years and everyone who's got to the end of it has got a job - it's got 100% employability.  

I work in the marketing team at a company called Astutis. They sell health, safety and environmental training courses and consultancy services. 

At work, one of the things I'm most proud of is managing our customer reviews and feedback. We’ve achieved a Feefo customer service award for three years in a row, and this year we got their Platinum Trusted Service Award, so that was quite a big achievement.  

The things I wish I knew before I started uni? The jump between A-Levels and university is a big one so understanding that is important. Also making sure you’re on top of all your assessments. 

One of our assessments was on public relations (PR), which was quite interesting. I learnt about all the different elements of PR. We also had to do a presentation about a campaign that had gone wrong. I was quite proud of that one because I spent so much time researching the campaign and I got good marks.  

If you’re thinking about studying Marketing or Network75 – I say just go for it. The benefits that Network75 gives you are massive. What you learn in your lectures mirrors what you do in work. You’ll have a lecture on Monday, go into work on Wednesday and see it applied in the real world.