Hundreds of students enjoy NSW Sign & Print Career Connections

The Sign & Print Career Connections initiative enjoyed its final major outing for the year in Sydney, where hundreds of students engaged with the team at the Sydney Careers & Employment Expo at Hordern Pavillion, Moore Park.

The expanded and improved 2024 program, hosted by Visual Connections and coordinated by the Australian Schools Industry Partnership (AusSIP), has proven a success, travelling to career expos in five states this year.

The program was designed to help attract new talent to the print, sign and graphics sector more than ten years ago, and piloted by Visual Connections and AusSIP in partnership with ASGA. Earlier this year, it expanded to include the entire print and graphic communications sector when FESPA Australia, FPLMA, LIA and VMA came on board.

With a bright, new stand and handy take-home resource materials complementing on-stand advice and information from AusSIP, local TAFEs and RTOs, industry experts and apprentices, the program has connected with thousands of young people keen to learn more about industry careers. The Sign & Print Career Connections Online resource has registered almost 2000 hits as students seek to learn more.

Sarah Moore, General Manager of Visual Connections, said the Sydney event is proving, once again, that visual communications careers can be a career of choice for senior students considering their future.

“There is no more pressing issue in our sector than the need for new talent, but we know that ‘if you can’t see it, you can’t be it’,” Moore says.

“Sign & Print Career Connections is designed to make our often-overlooked sector visible, and to showcase the diverse and exciting range of careers which are available across creative, technical, practical, sales, administration and management areas in print, signage and visual communications.

“The response of students, parents, teachers and careers counsellors at the Sydney Careers & Employment Expo has once again proven that, when young people can see the options available, they respond very positively, with many following up via the Sign & Print Career Connections online, or talking directly to training providers to explore training and apprenticeship opportunities,” adds Moore.

Joining Tina Mavris and John Watters from AusSIP on the stand in Sydney were representatives from TAFE NSW, Try-A-Trade sponsors Bounce LED, Pozitive, Techie Tools and Prytec Solutions, and other industry volunteers. Tina Mavris from AusSIP says their expertise and passion, together with the new-look stand and resource materials, has proven to be a ‘winning formula’ with students nationwide.

“Having such an engaging display at these Careers Expos allows students to experience the excitement and diversity of the visual communications sector and helps to get them thinking about how they might apply their talents to the opportunities available in print, sign and graphics,” says Mavris.

“With such a huge market in NSW, we were run off our feet on both days, fielding hundreds of enquiries from students and engaging them in a range of industry-themed activities. At times, it was hard to fit everyone on the stand. It’s exciting.”

The AusSIP team also took part in the Girls Tech Day, held on Thursday, introducing hundreds of primary school-aged girls to the industry, once again getting a positive response from the girls and their parents and teachers.

The Sign & Print Career Connections program is made possible by the cooperation of industry associations ASGA, FESPA Australia, FPLMA, LIA, and VMA. It is generously supported by industry-leading companies, including major sponsors Amari Visual Solutions, Ball & Doggett, Cactus Imaging, Fujifilm Graphic Systems, Graphic Art Mart, Mulford Australia, ORAFOL, Pozitive Sign & Graphics Supplies and Sign-a-Rama, and partnering sponsors Böttcher, FPLMA, Hero Print, MacDirmid Graphic Solutions and Spicers.

To find out more, download the Sign & Print Career Connections brochure here, and for more information on careers and training, and explore job opportunities at Sign & Print Career Connections Online