Is a Degree essential? Apparently you have got to have the right qualifications and experience these days to get on. Really?
Now call me old fashioned (even at my tender age of 60) but the only ‘degree’ that has helped me over the last three years build two war memorials and deliver a new exhibition is a degree of common sense.
Part of the one of the exhibits at the new Chorley Remembers Experience
Asked recently what my secret is, I said “passion”, “common sense” and “energy”. You can’t run or work on a project if you don’t have all three. If you don’t believe passionately in the job you are doing, then get out and find a new one.
What’s the secret of presenting things? - visually it is BCL - “balance”, “colour” and “light” (see how Department Stores present products and ‘dress’ their counters). As for presenting things in written form, it is KISS - “keep it short [and] simple” (see Ronseal – “it does exactly what it says on the tin”).
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. I must admit that I have learnt quite a few things over the last year or so from Politicians and Staff at Chorley Council, as well as from exhibition contractors Heckford’s from Preston; hopefully they will have learnt something from me.
Working in some industries, trades or buildings can lead to people being very insular and not very tolerant of “outsiders”. I come from a commercial world and a marketing background – communication, passion for my ‘product’ and energy to get the job done: are my skills “transferrable”?
I have enjoyed researching and ‘dressing’ the exhibition, finding out about the history of people and artefacts. When you see a photograph or learn about a person who gave his life for his country, it puts things into perspective.
You don’t need “the right qualification” to pay the ultimate sacrifice, do you?
