Industry skills: No education, no future

Flexible studies and closer ties between educators and industry will prepare graduates for the rigours of the screen sector. David Hull reports.

In general terms, the past couple of decades have seen higher education gain a firm foothold as an important, if not essential, stepping stone for high school graduates seeking to the enter the workforce of their chosen profession. However, in film and television such  momentum has stalled through the existence of a disconnect between on- the-job experience and formal education. The screen industry has historically been a place where practitioners have worked their way up from the shop floor, honing their skills through sweat  and tears alongside more experienced colleagues. As such, the screen industry has been home to scepticism towards the modern graduate; the accusation being that no amount of classroom training can make a candidate ‘job ready’.

Outside of the long-established film school model – a flag flown most notably by the Australian Film and Television School (AFTRS) – educational and/or training institutions have faced a difficult choice between offering students practical training, specific to a job role,  or providing them with a strong foundation in a broad range of skills, in order to boost the chances of students finding a pathway to employment. Regardless, the integration of field placements into course programmes has become increasingly common, while  generally institutions have attempted – with mixed success – to forge closer to ties with employers.