There has been much discussion of late about the recent downturn in students enrolling in tertiary print-related education courses. However, a new push is underway to change all that.

One such initiative has begun at Wyndham College, a new senior school located in Sydney, which is laying the groundwork for students to gain valuable and industry relevant skills in the area of graphic design.

Students are given access to such software as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premier and Macromedia Dreamweaver, Fireworks, and Flash in a purpose-built Skills Centre on the Wyndham College campus built in 2000 with the aid of a federal grant applied for by deputy principal Ross Wanstall.

“Gaining these skills gives the students an edge over others but also the confidence to apply for jobs involving the use of this software,” says Wyndham College teacher Elizabeth Germani.

“The career pathway in terms of training and jobs that employ these skills is not clear to all students and this needs to be addressed if the industry want new blood.”

According to Germani, the majority of the students who undertake this study apply for TAFE or University courses.

Joshua Sobel is one such student undertaking study of this nature at Wyndham College, and has recently completed compulsory work placement at Copyprint at Riverstone. Sobel says he is passionate about pursuing a career in this area and has recently won an art scholarship to travel to Canberra representing NSW.

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