Licentiateship In Fashion

  Licentiateship In Fashion

NWSD is very pleased to announce that NORTH WEST SCHOOL OF DESIGN is an International Fashion College for a Licentiateship in Fashion

North West School of Design is now a delegated authority, approved by City & Guilds of London to register, assess and recommend candidates for the City & Guilds Licentiateship which is run as part of the City & Guilds Professional Recognition Awards suite.  The awards are offered in industrial, business and professional fields and once achieved holders of the Licentiateship are entitled to use the designatory letters ‘LCGI’ and to wear the approved City & Guilds gown, hood and mortar board.   

Licentiateship – Definition:  Oxford Dictionaries.com

Licentiate:  Syllabification: li·cen·ti·ate - Pronunciation: /līˈsenSH(ē)it/

Noun:  The holder of a certificate of competence to practice a certain profession.  (In certain universities, especially in Europe) a degree between that of bachelor and master or doctor.  The holder of a licentiate degree.

Derivatives:  licentiateship - Pronunciation: /-ˌSHip/

The City & Guilds Licentiateship is a vocational route to a higher level professional recognition and are comprehensive, progressive and accessible and competence based.  The Licentiateship fills a huge gap within the higher level education and training gap in South Africa.  This aligns well with North West School of Design’s mission to ensure our curriculum caters for future designers and fashion professionals who are globally competent in terms of quality, price and supply chain management.

Wikipedia – City And Guilds of London Institute -

Professional Recognition Awards

(Former Senior Awards) As of Aug 2013 the awards are called - Professional Recognition Awards. In addition to Royal Charter (The highest level of Accreditation in UK) the awards are NQF (National Qualifications Framework) accredited qualifications which enable candidates to demonstrate their knowledge and skills within any sector or role. Those achieving these awards will be entitled to use an appropriate, internationally recognised post-nominal: Licentiateship (LCGI), Affiliateship (AfCGI), Graduateship (GCGI) and Membership (MCGI). They can also help candidates working towards higher level qualifications.

These qualifications are ideal for those working at the highest professional levels in any role or sector and looking for an accredited qualification to provide recognition of their knowledge and skills.

Licentiateship LCGI - level 4

The learner would typically: have first-line responsibility for managing day-to-day activities; manage resources in own area of responsibility; constructively work with others to develop and maintain good working relationships; develop and maintain good customer relationships; identify and access opportunities for professional development; be able to apply professional standards in own area of responsibility; take into account the views and perspectives of others in decision-making; communicate effectively and manage information in line with organisational and legal requirements; consistently meet aims and objectives; exercise autonomy and judgment in work role; and address problems that are well-defined but non-routine. Applicants must provide evidence that they have performed competently in a relevant work environment. Evidence of industrial achievement may take the form of an industrial qualification (e.g. an industry-recognised apprenticeship) or confirmation from a current or recent employer of at least five years’ appropriate employment.

City & Guilds Qualifications alignment with NWSD’s courses

Fashion Design Students

Year	Description	Examination	Qualification
1	Academic year completed on a fulltime basis at North West School of Design	Year End – City & Guilds examination	City & Guilds 7160-12 Level 2 Certificate in Fashion
2	Academic year completed on a fulltime basis at North West School of Design	Year End – City & Guilds examination	City & Guilds 7160-22 Level 2 Diploma  in Fashion
3	Academic year completed on a fulltime basis at North West School of Design	Year End – City & Guilds examination	City & Guilds 7160-13 Level 3 Certificate in Fashion
4	Practical year completed at the workplace within the Fashion Industry	Portfolio of evidence submitted after completion of one full year fulltime employment within the fashion industry	City & Guilds Level 4 9200-01 Licentiateship

Fashion Communication & Buying Students

Year	Description	Examination	Qualification
1	Academic year completed on a fulltime basis at North West School of Design	Year End – City & Guilds examination	City & Guilds 7160-12 Level 2 Certificate in Fashion
2	Academic year completed on a fulltime basis at North West School of Design	Year End – City & Guilds examination	City & Guilds 7160-22 Level 2 Diploma  in Fashion
3	Academic year completed on a fulltime basis at North West School of Design	Year End – NWSD examination of projects that form part of the Level 4 assessment	N/A
4	Practical year completed at the workplace within the Fashion Industry	Portfolio of evidence submitted after completion of one full year fulltime employment within the fashion industry	City & Guilds Level 4 9200-01 Licentiateship

We Equip industry leaders

We Equip industry leaders 

At NWSD we equip industry leaders for success,With Nwsd's international qualifications there are endless possibilities for career options! Here are some of our graduates and their various jobs and roles in the fashion industry: 

Gert-Johan Coetzee

Fashion Designer to the stars

Anel Botha

Fashion designer to the stars

Owner and head designer at Anel Botha Couture

Kobus Rautenbach 

Owner and head designer at Kobus Rautenbach Couture 

 Esmene Van Dyk

Owner and head designer at Esmene Couture

Sylvester Falata

Designer to the stars 

Head designer at Sylvester Falata

 John-Wayne Keyser

Owner and head designer at Jwk Couture

Online editor at North West School Of Design

 Stacy Grant

working for Haute Bride USA 

 Jose De Canha

Owner and head designer Jose De Canha Couture

 Eulogeo Zeloo

proud label of two innovative young designers,

Jolandie Coetzee and Yolande Kruger

Itumeleng Mercia Matlakhu

Member of the PACC and Owner and head designer

at Deep Moon

 Ernst Schutz

Studio Manager Anel Botha Couture

 Jolinda De Klerk

 Assistant Gert-Johan Coetzee

 Marisca Koekemoer

Assistant Designer Esmene Couture

Francoise Jeanne deVilliers
Fashion Assistant at Highbury Safika Media

Why Students Chose North West School of Design

Why students chose North West School of Design

It is that time of year that NWSD, like many other fashion colleges are inundated with applications to register for fulltime fashion studies.  All these fashion hopefuls have one concern in common – how to choose the right fashion college?  Fashion training, as a specialized field in higher education can end up costing much more than more conventional and regular training programmes and because they are buying something that is life determining, future fashion students must rely on the credibility of the institution they are applying to. 

NWSD ranks and measures their quality of fashion education by means of student & graduate reviews.  NWSD students were asked why they chose this college, and their responses will give you an idea of this institution’s track record.

1.                   A Choice in Fashion

The best thing about fashion is the wealth of opportunities Careers in Fashion it offers, but school leavers rarely grasp the vastness of the global fashion industry and they, like many believe that fashion training only leads to a career as a fashion designer.  NWSD introduces first year students to the global scope of the industry so that they can, after six months of studying fashion make a well informed choice of continuing in the field of Fashion Design or moving over to the Fashion Management & CommunicationCourse. 

2.                   International Qualifications

North West School of Design is internationally recognized with a globalized curriculum. NWSD fulltime courses have certificate, diploma, first degree, degree, honours and masters degree exit levels based on the International City & Guilds qualifications stature.

NORTH WEST SCHOOL OF DESIGN is an approved (registered and accredited) CITY AND GUILDS. (Centre no: 848446). City & Guilds London Institute was founded in 1878 and is a well known and respected name worldwide in vocational education and training and commands respect from candidates and employers alike. Because NORTH WEST SCHOOL OF DESIGN offer diploma and degree courses that ultimately lead to Foreign Qualifications, they are accredited with City and Guilds, and not with a SETA, SAQA, CHE or DOE.

3.                   Online Learning System

NWSD leads the way in fashion education as the first SA fashion college to merge contact learning and teaching with an integrated online learning system.  The NWSD learning management system is a an online system for managing training and educational records to distributing course work, manuals, class schedules, assignment dates and calendars. 

The NWSD online learning system lower costs, allows for faster delivery of teaching materials, aids students in more effective learning and has a lower environmental impact.

4.                   100 Years Combined Experience

NWSD has recently celebrated their 16^th birthday and with 16 years of educating experience and the academic staff of NWSD holds more than 100 years of experience within the fashion industry, with a good mix of couture, retail, mass production and entrepreneurial studies.

5.                   Always Evolving

“With their hands on approach and care, the NWSD is the best place to go if you want to make it as a designer in this cut-throat industry. They don't waste time when teaching you the best techniques and business skill. With a principal that never stops bettering her knowledge and experience and a very capable staff, it all comes down to the bottom line: The business of Fashion!" Gert Johan Coetzee - Celebrity Designer & Specialist couturier NWSD Graduate Class of 2004 & 2005.

A college is ranked by its staff, students and research.  NWSD can continually evolve because of ongoing industry research and keeping abreast of the latest industry developments.  The Fashion Modules and courses that were lectured in 2014 is totally different from modules that were lectured in 2003. 

6.                   Alumni

NWSD alumni are this institution’s greatest success stories who have a permanent relationship with the principal. 

Gert Johan Coetzee

Anel Botha

Sylvester Falata

 Mercia Itumeleng Matlhaku

Jose de Canha

Kobus Rautenbach Couture

Eulogoe Zeloo 

-          

7.                   Fashion Shows

NWSD has recently hosted their 15^th annual graduation fashion show by introducing the first Platinum Fashion Festival.  This sold out event testifies of great community support as well as media and industry support.  Students all agree that the most remarkable thing of the 2014 Platinum Fashion Festival was the vibrancy of the audience which confirmed the great success of the shows. 

The 2015 Platinum Fashion Festival is already booked as a 2 day event which includes not only student collections but will also create a platform for emerging designers, a food fair and a designer’s fair.  The objective is to host a fashion festival for fashion lovers and not necessarily only fashion leaders.

8.                   The NWSD Family

NWSD embraces an extensive community of diverse people.  Students come from all four corners of SA as well as Namibia and as far as Madagascar.  Because fashion is all around us, the dynamic world of fashion is not limited to SA’s bigger cities.   Because Klerksdorp is central, safer than larger cities and offers more affordable accommodation, parents are not as reluctant to send their young adults to an out-of-town college. 

9.                   Work Hard, Play Hard

There is a lot of great things about NWSD’s world of fashion – the excitement, the creativity, the buzz, but don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s all glitz and glam.  NWSD students develop a culture of productivity and they soon adopt the creed of Work Hard, and Play Hard. 

For more reading:

·         NWSD Success Story

·         How To Apply

·         News & Blogs

·         NWSD Videos

Working on our Platinum Fashion Festival collections

We all know that is not easy to plan any event and it's even harder to design and make collections that are of high standard, on trend, sellable and that shows the fashion student's innovation and technical abilities.

Our students are dedicated to their work and they always have fun doing it! Here is a look at the steps the students of NWSD take to get to the end result.

Concept to Collection Presentation

Assessments of the 2nd year concept to collection for the upcoming Platinum Fashion Festival.  Presentations included preliminary design ideas based on market and trend research, fabric choices, inspiration boards and theme motivation.  

Production Planning

Each 3rd year’s collection is based on thorough trend and market research.  The final year fashion students also studied the different price point categories for fashion retail merchandise before they came up with designs for their own collections, ensuring their fabric choice, styles and price points all align well with the relevant price point category and retail market. 

Pattern Making

Pattern making plays the most important role of designing a well structured garment
and the NWSD students know exactly how to use the award winning X!act Patternmaker.

Fittings

In the final days before the Platinum Fashion Festival, all the models have to

come for a fittings to ensure every dress looks and feels amazing on the runway.  The garment is first tested in calico fabric before the final pattern is cut in the end fabric.  

Work Through The Night

The Annual Work Through the Night is tradition here at NWSD.  It is hard work, but

gives the students extra time for layout and cutting.   

Garment Construction

"Do it right the first time, then you won't have to unpick!", Marlene Oosthuizen 

Quality Assessments

Each garment is thoroughly inspected by lecturers and students are constantly advised on techniques to be used to ensure that all garments are sewn to meet the NWSD quality standards.  

Next up

So this is where we are at for now, next up we have final fittings where each look is assessed for styling, thereafter is the dreaded final submissions and finally rehearsal time on Friday 7 November!

PLATINUM FASHION FESTIVAL WEBSITE

BOOK YOUR TICKET

Alumni - Convert your Certificate/Diploma to City and Guilds

NWSD Alumni can now convert their national qualification to a  City & Guilds International Fashion Qualifications. 

Why convert your existing Diploma or Certificate? 

NORTH WEST SCHOOL OF DESIGN is now accredited as an International Fashion College and our courses now lead to a Foreign Qualification.   All previous fulltime students who have completed their one year or two year fashion training with NWSD can opt to submit their portfolios for verification in order obtain this International Fashion Certificate or Diploma. 

Is it Compulsory to convert?

It is not mandatory, only optional.  Our market research has shown that current, future and past students have a preference for International Qualifications over National SAQA Certificates or Diplomas and this is why we opted to have our college and course accredited with the internationally recognized City & Guilds of London.  Whilst interviewing a number of graduates, we realized that we should include previous students when our current students complete their first City & Guilds exam. 

Why City & Guilds and not SAQA?

Accredited qualifications, also known as regulated qualifications are those that are reviewed, recognised and monitored by a regulatory body in order to make sure that they meet specific criteria and quality standards.
According to the South African regulating body, SAQA (South African Qualifications Authority) Qualification details, the Bachelor of Arts:  Fashion Design Programme has not been assessed internationally and it is for this reason that our students have voted for the option to apply through City & Guilds for international approval.    Fashion is global, so according to our students, is vital that our training is internationally recognized, as more and more of our graduates are employed globally and have ventured into the global arena with supplying their collections to global stores.

City & Guilds London Institute was founded in 1878 and is a well known and respected name worldwide in vocational education and training and commands respect from candidates and employers alike. This aligns well with North West School of Design’s mission to ensure our curriculum caters for future designers and fashion professionals who are globally competent in terms of quality, price and supply chain management.

Because NORTH WEST SCHOOL OF DESIGN offer diploma and degree equivalent courses that ultimately lead to Foreign Qualifications, we are accredited with City and Guilds, and not with a SETA, SAQA, CHE or Department of Education. 

City & Guilds International Qualifications are not categorized in the same way as SAQA qualifications such as one year Certificate, two year Diploma or three year Degree. The City & Guilds framework makes use of Awards, Certificates and Diplomas and each of these are furthermore categorized into various Levels from Level 1 to 4.
City & Guilds Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) system foresees awarding qualifications on the basis of achievement rather than the years of study completed.
City & Guilds is however a registered provider with SAQA, therefore students who have successfully obtained City & Guilds qualifications through NWSD can establish the equivalent SAQA stature through City & Guilds. 
This means that SAQA (South African recognized qualification) is not the conferring body that confers or awards your final qualification, but the qualification is conferred and awarded by City & Guilds, which means the qualification is both nationally and internationally recognized.  

  
How do I convert my Certificate or Diploma?

Firstly, you will send the principal an email to request the C&G exam guide.  You will then receive a detailed guide and video recording which explains the units that you will need to submit for the City & Guilds verification.  This is referred to as your POE (Portfolio of Evidence).  Most of the items for your POE are garments, samples, sketches, storyboards and patterns that you already have.  There is however some of the work that you will have to make additionally.
You might want to complete the Level 2 Certificate unit this year then complete the Level 2 Diploma level next year.  This is entirely up to you.  Should you opt to go ahead and submit a POE for the Diploma level, you will automatically also add the Certificate POE units with this exam.  This means the Diploma POE is more work than the Certificate POE.  Once you have received the Level 2 Diploma, you can opt to submit a POE for Level 3 in 2015. 
Once you have reviewed the guide and you have established whether you will submit a POE for the Certificate or Diploma, you can then register with the principal for the exam. 
Exam Registration is R2000 for the Level 2 Certificate and R3 000 for the Level 2 Diploma.  Level 3 exams will only be available in 2015 once you have obtained the Level 2 Diploma.  Once this is paid, you will be registered as a student on the City & Guilds Walled Garden to receive your exam number. 
You will then submit your POE on or before 24 November 2014.

To apply, and for more info please email nwsd@gds.co.za