Graduate boat designer supports shipwright expansion
Location: Cornwall
ESF Funding: ESF Convergence
ESF Target Group: Graduates (Cornwall)
Boat designer Henry Ward spent most of his early years wanting to draw cars but following a work placement in Weymouth his interests changed to boats and he hasn’t looked back.
After graduating with a BA Honours in Transport Design from the University of Huddersfield Henry spent two months working on his portfolio and took it to the Southampton and Monaco Boat Shows. In Southampton he met Dave Cockwell and soon after began work under the Unlocking Cornish Potential (UCP) scheme at Cockwell’s Boatyard, Mylor.
UCP receives ESF (European Social Fund) Convergence investment. A Combined Universities in Cornwall scheme managed by Cornwall College, it places graduates with businesses in Cornwall and offers support including valuable expert mentoring for up to one year.
15 months later Henry is a permanent member of staff and has significantly increased his range of skills and experience. As well as his official Design and Technical Support title he is also heavily involved with the company’s marketing.
Henry said, "I am very happy to be working in Cornwall and would not want to be anywhere else. All the training and mentoring I received via Unlocking Cornish Potential has been fantastic.”
Mark Yeoman, Head of ESF Convergence Communication, said, "Henry has used the expert mentoring on offer through Unlocking Cornish Potential to expand his skills and knowledge to build his career and then convert this new learning to Cockwell’s benefit. The ESF Convergence investment in UCP is part of a suite of investment designed to boost jobs and skills across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.”
Since starting work at Cockwell’s in November 2011 Henry has set up an in house design studio from scratch – previously work was subcontracted off site; started producing detailed technical drawings for the shipwrights; come up with ideas for new boat designs and worked on the design of brochures, books and other marketing material.
Henry is the second UCP graduate working at the boatyard. Karen Smith, who is now Yard Development Manager, was also originally employed under UCP.
Dave Cockwell, Cockwells owner and Managing Director, said, "UCP is of huge importance to small companies like ours. The professional mentoring and financial incentives are really encouraging to help us employ new staff. Henry has been a huge asset to the company. He has expanded our drawing office capabilities and, through marketing activities and creating new designs, he has reached out to clients we may not have previously found.
Andy Peters, UCP Business Development Manager, said, "As well as being qualified in transport design Henry has also proved to be talented in designing marketing material. He used the UCP mentoring to hone these skills as well as learning more about naval architecture."