Follow a dream

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Sami Sheriff's life didn't go well after school. He did a web publishing course at college, but his heart wasn't in it. He worked in his Dad's hotel. He worked in a record shop. He did a bit of DJing. Mainly he got up late, went clubbing and was always broke by the weekend.

Now, at 23, Sami's up in the morning, totally focused. What has wrought this change? Taking a year's course in music production at the Point Blank Music College in east London. "It's a passion. I want to make my own records on my own label. The course is practical, and the teachers know the industry. My father looks at me now and sees a changed person."

Rachael Golding, 17, did well in her GCSEs and could have gone on to A-levels and university. "But all I wanted to do was be a singer." Now she spends 16 hours a week studying for a vocals diploma at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, while in her spare time she sings with a couple of bands, and writes and records her own material. "My parents preferred me to do something I enjoyed. And actually, since I started, I've also become very interested in the music-industry side of things."

Many parents despair when all their offspring seem interested in is music, video games or television. But today's youth culture is big business. There are good jobs to be had, and plenty of courses to help their children get on in the industry. But this is also an area where cowboys operate, so they need to do their research carefully. Any formal qualification should be properly accredited, and anyone teaching shorter courses should know their industry backwards and be able to convey their experience.

Short courses are offered by the TV and Radio School in Kent (www.tvandradioschool.com). These are individual courses tailored to each student, so a youngster interested in getting into radio could get a general overview, or focus on anything from digital editing to voiceovers. At £320 for a day or £1,500 for a week, they're not cheap, but the student will come away with a demo to send to radio stations or production companies, and some knowledge of how the business works.

A computer whizz who wants to build websites or go into video-game designing can look at the distance-learning digital-design or web-design diploma courses offered by the highly reputable Art Institute Online, part of the Pittsburgh Art Institute (www.aionline.edu). They'll end up with a US qualification, but in today's global village that might be an advantage.

For online music-recording courses, there's audiocourses.com. Here, you'll find City & Guilds diploma courses (the company boasts a 100 per cent pass rate in its Sound Engineering Part 3) among others, although the director Christopher Hambly warns: "The audio/media and entertainment industries are the hardest to get into and stay in. So we keep it tough from day one and expect a lot."

At Point Blank Music College (www.pointblanklondon.com), students can learn music production, DJing skills, guitar, drums and songwriting on courses ranging from a two-day crash course in DJing (£350) to a year-long music production course (£4,000). David Reid, the sales and marketing manager, says the college is part of the London Open College Network, its courses are accredited and award-winning, and that it is an official training centre for Steinberg, the music-software giants. "We're very transparent. We do a studio tour each week, and parents are welcome to join it and see lessons in progress."

Phil Brookes, the managing director of the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford (www.acm.ac.uk), says it enrols a lot of kids who "have been disengaged from mainstream education because many of them are right-brained students, while traditional academic education favours left-brained techniques." With the college's mix of good learning support and practical courses, he says, they thrive. The college runs diploma courses accredited by the exam board EdExcel, and a two-year degree in modern music accredited by Middlesex University. All students study a module on the music industry, covering law, marketing and finance. Many go on to form bands or start DJing companies.

But networking, Brookes points out, can be the biggest benefit of being at a college such as ACM. "The music industry is incestuous. If you've got a great product you've got to be able to pick up the phone and tell people about it. Our students can."