The National Coinslot Technologies qualification, part of a dynamic new initiative which launched at ATEI 2008 is now looking to expand on its success. "We secured an educational grant that allows us to commit to teaching an unbelievably wide range of skills in several different units throughout the academic year," enthused Furkan Choudry, lecturer in Coinslot technologies. In addition to the core skills we also run units on CCTV, on customer service, vending, jukeboxes and sound systems."

Greenwich is one of just three sites offering amusement and gaming qualifications in the UK and its Coinslot course is the largest. Its mission is to help those trying to get into the industry, but crucially it also provides bespoke training to those already in it. "There are two qualifications people can take: a year studying all the units to achieve what amounts to a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level 3; or there is the option to do selected units for a City and Guilds Certificate. The main principle we are trying to embed in people is the basics of what is a very well-respected and established industry," Choudry explained.

The college's facilities are alive with machines in various states of assembly, testing stations and ambitious projects. Clarion Gaming's John Fenna, who has seen at first hand the valuable work undertaken by students, said: "Greenwich College is able to cover this amount of ground only with help from the industry. The college would benefit greatly from working partnerships with employers in the sector that would be mutually beneficial for all parties involved. It is our hope that the college presence at ATEI 2010 will cement links with the industry."

College head, Alan Penny explained: "Our focus is on the core education and everything we spend must be on that. This doesn't leave us much spare to promote ourselves so it's great that ATEI is helping us in that regard. In terms of product, we desperately need a stock of old computer units/boards and chips from games that we can get the students to re-engineer, plus anything in the sound and leisure field."

Speaking of more long term goals, he continued "The courses have been a success so far but I think we could have more direct success and help the amusement industry at the same time by providing more bespoke training. If a manufacturer or distributor were to sponsor a current unit or come to us with an idea to develop a new one based on their commercial needs, we'd be delighted to run it and take the educational costs." There are other ways the Greenwich site can help amusement companies. Due to its tailored design, Greenwich can host launches, training (it has a fully AV-enabled lecture room for over 40 people) conferences and a host of other activities.

Choudry concluded: "Only by honing and boosting the skills of those in the industry and harnessing the enthusiasm of those trying to get in to it can we make it more innovative and successful in the future. We have ensured that the resources exist and we are crying out for the industry to use them."

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