Nettl Academy swings open the doors for First Nettl Cadets

A warm welcome to our first Nettl Cadets who completed day one at the new Nettl Academy. The training programme, based at our Birmingham Business Store, is an initiative designed to help parachute the Cadets into a design career.

Every year, thousands of would-be designers leave university facing an uphill struggle to secure a job in the creative industry.

With over 10,000 graduates fighting for just 800 jobs, the competition is fierce and talented design hopefuls can find it tough to gain valuable experience.

The Nettl Academy

The Nettl Academy is a way for design graduates to gain some experience, get on-the-job coaching and real-world training. This approach benefits both the graduate and the employer. New starters with relevant experience under their belt can hit the ground running and be productive from day one.

Kate is one of the first Cadets. She studied Graphic Design and Multimedia at the University of Worcester. She said “I started at the Nettl Academy because it was a great opportunity to further my skills as a designer and, hopefully, help me start my career.”

classroom training in great room training room birmingham nettl academy

The Right Fit

One of the challenges our Nettl partners face is that they don’t know what someone’s really like until they hire them. They could put them through training just to discover they’re not the right fit. We hope that the experience a Cadet gets from Nettl Academy will not only make them more employable, but create sustainable, long term positions within existing teams.

We’ve already had interest from other Nettl studios in our network of 100 locations. We’re always looking for talent and our partners are expanding and recruiting.

Built for Success

The first sessions have already been a great success with lots of energy and ideas. The Cadets have shown great potential and we plan to launch a second Academy in Manchester later this year.

If you’re a design student, or you know one, we are looking for applicants for next term.

Click to find our more about the Nettl Academy or enrol.

team photo nettl cadets nettl academy

Exhibiting this year?

Want to know how we got from the photo on the left to the photo on the right in just 15 mins?

fabric exhibition display stans at prolific north live expo manchester

That’s right, everything out of the boot of a car and assembled in just 15 mins. Not a furrowed brow or bead of sweat in sight. OK, just one bead.

Last minute opportunity

We managed to secure a (VERY) last minute slot at Prolific North Live Today. Just last night we confirmed the booking and within 12 hours we’re exhibiting. We can grab opportunities like this because our stands make us flexible.

Your business can benefit from fantastic deals on exhibition spaces if you’re able to move quickly.

With very little planning, we are able to just turn up with our branded booth, table and footstool in the back of a car. Within minutes we’re all set up and ready to go – Instant Expo in a box. Well, a boot.

How fabric can make your life easier:

Our fabric range is:

  • Lightweight
  • Portable
  • Packs away neatly
  • Quick & easy to assemble
  • High impact
  • Seamless
  • Machine washable
  • Safe to use

To get your hands on some next generation fabric displays, contact your local Nettl studio.

Prolific North Live

Prolific North Live is taking place at Event City in Manchester today. The expo features leading exponents of digital, marketing, print, branding, content, advertising, PR, TV and film.

The show is open until 5pm so if you can get there, we recommend it. You’ll need to move quickly though (Like us).

Is your website secure?

If not, Google Chrome, the world’s most popular browser, is letting visitors know about it.

To the left of the web address there is a little security status icon. If you land on a page that doesn’t have SSL,  you’ll see a little circle with an ‘i’ in it. Click on it to reveal a message that announces:

“Your connection to this site is not secure.”

“You should not enter any sensitive information on this site (for example, passwords or credit cards), because it could be stolen by attackers.”

Doesn’t sound great, does it? It gets worse. Since Chrome’s latest release (Chrome 56) in January, non-secure pages containing password and credit card input fields get marked as ‘Not Secure’ in the URL bar: 

secure notification in chrome https ssl

And if Chrome has major concerns about the privacy of your site’s connection, or perceives it to be “Dangerous’ you’ll get this howler:

not secure warning in chrome

How can I make my site secure in Google Chrome?

Have you ever noticed the extra ’s’ at the beginning of the web address? You know, some url’s start with http://www. and others https://www. Well, that little ‘s’ stands for ‘secure’.

secure green padlock chrome https url with ssl certificate

When you go to a site that uses HTTPS, the website’s server is using an SSL Certificate. You’ll see a little locked padlock and be informed that the site is ‘Secure’. A little like this:

secure https url with ssl certificate

What is an SSL Certificate?

SSL is used to securely encrypt communication between you and a website, so it keeps your details secure from hackers. It’s highly recommended for all e-commerce websites or sites that use forms to ask for personal details you don’t want getting into the wrong hands.

Does my Website need an SSL Certificate?

If you have an e-commerce website (online shop) then yes, absolutely. In fact, most payment gateway providers will insist on it so that you can take payments securely.

However, until recently, most other websites were less likely to need one. But in a bid to improve security across the internet, Chrome’s latest update means many more businesses will want SSL. Companies will want to avoid having scary warnings broadcast to people visiting their website. After all, they can appear quite off-putting to the vast majority of web users.

Benefits of SSL:

  • You don’t scare off your visitors.
  • It helps your Google ranking.
  • You look more professional.
  • It helps you gain trust from potential customers.
  • You get more data in your Google Analytics report.
  • The data passed between you and your visitors is secure.

How do I get an SSL Certificate?

We can help you buy and setup an SSL certificate for your website.
Prices start from just £29 +VAT per year.
Don’t scare your customers away! Contact your local studio to take action today.

Safer Internet Day is being celebrated globally today in a bid to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology. The focus for the campaign is working together to protect children and families online. However, with cyber crime cases on the rise, online security is something we should all be considering within our businesses.

Here are 5 basic tips to help your business stay on top of its e-safety game:

  1. Protect your computer
    When it comes to protection against viruses, worms and trojans, every business computer should employ anti-virus technology to help prevent attacks. Install well known anti-virus software and make sure you stay on top of the updates. But remember, anti-virus scanners are only able to detect the nasties that are already listed in their database.
  2.  Be wary of email
    Never open or click on attachments in emails that you weren’t expecting to receive. Even if you recognise the sender’s email address, be sure to exercise caution, their email account may have been hacked. Beware ‘Phishing’: Never click on a link from an email requesting login details, no matter how official it looks.
  3.  Enable automatic updates
    Vulnerabilities in computer applications are a bit like open windows to a hacker. Companies are constantly updating their software to deal with new threats and prevent potential risks. It’s therefore very important to keep your version up to date. Switch on automatic update notifications to be kept up to speed and ensure your apps are as safe as possible.
  4.  Use strong passwords
    For a strong password tip, use a good mix of random words and special characters. Make sure it’s at least 8 characters long. Why not pick a memorable phrase, or a line from a song, and choose the first characters from each word. Don’t use the same password across multiple sites.
  5. Use SSL on your website

    Having an SSL Certificate on your website not only looks more professional and increases trust, it also secures data passed between your website and your visitor. Whether it’s a promo code, personal information, passwords or credit card details, an SSL certificate protects the information you send and receive. Learn more about SSL.

    For more information on how to stay safe and prosper online, contact your local Nettl studio.