Taking the first steps

optician talks to David Walker, chairman of the SMC Training Committee, about the launch of its Level 2 Certificate in Optical Production Processes

Taking the all important first step on the training ladder can be a daunting proposition, especially for the young person who has left school with few academic qualifications and little idea what they really want to do. Is this the right course? Will it be like school? Will I be able to cope with the workload? Will the qualification be recognised? Will this course lead me into another if I want it to? All these questions and more surface to plague the individual with uncertainty and tempt them away from making that important first step.

The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers (SMC) was very much aware that it had to overcome all these hurdles to make sure that its new Level 2 Certificate in Optical Production Processes (OPP Level 2) qualification really hit the spot for the next generation of optical manufacturing technicians needed for our industry to remain competitive. As chairman of the SMC Training Committee, David Walker is keen to point out that the competition is twofold: first from optics companies overseas and second from every other industry sector in the UK that needs to recruit, train and keep skilled technicians. It is, he says, the latter which concerns him more, stressing the need for the optical industry to promote itself, at every opportunity, as a vibrant, thriving and important part of UK plc.