European Social Fund in England
2007 - 2013
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=91I hope to have my own drive-time radio show one day=92
Chris Wilsdon was working as an IT consultant when he started to = experience=20 problems with his eyesight.
Within months his sight had become so poor that he had to give up his = job.
=93My eye condition started three-and-a-half years ago,=94 said = Chris, 43. =93I had=20 both my corneas replaced due to infections.
=93I was hospitalised for a week and from then on it was operations = and more=20 visits to the hospital. I=92m now partially-sighted.=94
Chris got in touch with an employment adviser at the Royal National = Institute=20 of Blind People (RNIB) who referred him to a European Social Fund = supported=20 radio skills project in Reigate, Surrey.
The three-month scheme, run in conjunction with local radio station = Redstone=20 FM, gave participants a chance to learn about scriptwriting, production=20 techniques, media law and how to present a show.
A former BBC=20 journalist delivered the legal training to the students - including the = laws of=20 contempt and libel that journalists must adhere to - while voice = training was=20 provided by a professional voice coach.
At the end of the course, each participant delivered a live broadcast = themselves.
=93I=92d never worked in radio before but because my sight had = deteriorated I=20 thought it was an avenue to explore, where I could use my other = senses,=94 said=20 Chris, who lives with his partner in Sidcup, Kent.
=93I=92d expressed my interest in radio to my advisor at the RNIB and = he put me=20 in touch with the project. Having been out of work for a while it was = good to be=20 back amongst people, learning a new skill.
=93The voice coach was excellent =96 she made us think about how we = speak, and=20 taught us how to project ourselves better than we normally would.
=93At the end of the course I interviewed the chairman of a local = business live=20 on air and that came across well. I got some good feedback and I really = enjoyed=20 it.=94
Since the project ended, Chris has been working three days a week as = an=20 administrator for the Kent Association for the Blind while he gains = further work=20 experience in the media.
=93The course definitely helped me with my confidence and I think = that helped=20 me get this job,=94 he said. =93I=92ve since been looking around to do = community radio=20 stations in my local area. There is a community radio station in = Bromley, near=20 to where I live, so I=92m going to get in touch with them.=94
Chris now has ambitions to have his own drive-time show or to become =
a sports=20
reporter and is emphatic in his praise for the
=93The thing that stood out the most was seeing people with different = impairments approaching the course in different ways and for their own = benefit -=20 but we all came together as a group. It=92s a great project.=94
Project information
Reigate & Banstead Community Radio Ltd was awarded a =A312,000 = Community=20 Grant from the European Social Fund to run a training programme for = eight=20 students during spring and summer 2009.
Participants were taught:
- techniques of writing for radio=20
- techniques for conducting a radio interview=20
- the laws of contempt, libel and other restrictions on broadcasters =
- the structure of the radio industry=20
- the techniques for writing a CV=20
- presentation techniques
The Co-Financing Organisation was the Learning & Skills Council=20 (LSC).