Posted: 20/04/18
Cameron has class of 2018 sewn up
A business student from West Nottinghamshire College has used his enterprising talents to bring students end of college year memorabilia, while boosting his own skills.
Cameron Moore (centre) with music students Jordan Pashley (left) and Milo Tooley-Okonkwo (right) modelling the new hoodies
Cameron Moore, 17, a student on the BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Business, has been working closely with the college’s student experience team to bring a retail idea to reality.
Increasingly school and college leavers are ending their academic studies by donning a leavers’ hoodie, usually marked with the college year on them and the name of their place of study.
Cameron, from South Normanton in Derbyshire, decided that this would be the perfect product to launch to his fellow students at West Notts College.
Putting the idea to his mentor Oliver Pate, a wider learning officer, Cameron took an existing clothing concept which he’d rolled out to sport and public services students last year, and grew the seed from that.
Previously, Cameron had supplied those students with their own personalised curriculum uniform of logo stitched polo shirts, while working with a uniform supplier. This worked really well and Cameron provided almost 300 students with a professional and smart uniform, from suppliers La Beeby, based in Sheffield.
Last year’s uniform roll-out had proved so successful that he decided to launch a branded hoodie for this year’s college leavers. Both Cameron and Oliver ran the idea past the college’s executive team and it was given the go-ahead.
Acting as middle-man, Cameron is anticipating to take 1,000 orders from students with a selection of burgundy, light grey or navy hoodie tops in a range of sizes. Costing just £20 he has worked closely with La Beeby retail staff to come up with the high-quality garment which will also be embroidered with the college’s own logo.
Oliver Pate said: “Cameron has really impressed us with his ambition, his willingness to provide our students with this quality product and his confidence has really soared. He’s been a pleasure to work with and we’re incredibly proud of his enterprising spirit and business savviness.
“The business idea he’s leaving us with will ensure that we can continue the same thing year after year.”
Cameron will be leaving the college this year, with plans to head to the University of East Anglia to study business.
He said: “I’ve really enjoyed working with Oliver and La Beeby to get this idea off the ground. I’ve been taking student orders in and passing them to the company and it’s worked really smoothly. I wanted to provide a high-quality, affordable top for students to take with them when they leave college.
“I was recently diagnosed with Aspergers, and this project has given me a lot of confidence, ideas for future business set-ups and it’s enabled me to think sensibly about cash-flow. In my future career if I were to make profit, I’d reinvest it and not spend frivolously.
“With Aspergers I can get quite tunnel-visioned, but it’s proven to be benefit for me, concentrating my efforts so much on the initiative.
“I’ve already got another business idea growing ready for when I start university, and I’m proud of the hoodie project I’ve already worked on. Oliver has been great to work with on this and he’s trusted in me to carry it forward.”
