By UTS Careers Service for students interested in a career in the Media, Arts & Production (MAP) industry

1. UTS Careers Service
MAPPING YOUR CAREER
Project Presentation
2011

2. Presentation Outline
• Introduction
• Aims and Objectives
• Methodologies
• Key Themes
• Findings
• Project Outcomes

3. Introduction
• Purpose of the project
• Government funding and industry partner

4. Aims and Objectives
• Highlight valuable media arts job-seeker strategies
• Skills and attributes valued in the media arts industries
• Importance of industry work experience
• Provide an overview of entry-level possibilities
• Advice on self-presentation and presentation of production work
• Current and Future Industry Trends

5. Methodologies
• Employer Interviews
• Employer Survey
• UTS MAP Academic Interviews
• UTS MAP Alumni Survey

6. a) Employer Interviews
• 12 Industry Employers
• Audio Interviews
• Edited and transcribed

7. Industry employers
Sound Radio
Studios 301 SBS Radio
Huzzah Sound FBI Radio
Film & Video Web Design
Frame, Set & Match Reactive - Carl Panczak
The Feds Wiliam - Robert Beerworth
Animal Logic
Animation
Television SLR Productions - Suzanne Ryan
ABC
Foxtel

8. b) Employer Survey
• 12 question survey
• Cooperation with AIMIA
• Encore Directory

9. c) UTS Academic Interviews
• 4 Media Arts and Production academics

10. d) UTS Media Arts & Production Alumni
Survey
• 178 former MAP students emailed link to survey
• 242 former MAP students mailed hardcopy survey

11. Research Participants
• 56 employers (44 survey respondents + 12 interviews)
• 25 UTS MAP alumni
• 4 UTS MAP academics

12. Key themes
• The Interview and CV
• Job-seeker Strategies
• Entry-level Positions
• Work Experience
• Advancement Opportunities
• Networking
• Industry Events
• Technical Skills
• Academic Record
• Non-technical Skills
• Current and Future Industry
• Production Portfolio
Trends

13. 1. Job-seeker Strategies
• Most useful to graduates according to employers –
i) Internships
ii) Industry events/Networking
iii) Professional Association and Job Vacancy websites
iv) Company websites
• Creative arts focused websites (Arts Hub, the Loop, Digital Labourer’s Federation)
• Company websites ideal for introducing oneself to a company
• Word of mouth and peer-referral

14. 2. Work Experience
• Highly regarded by employers
• Broadening networks
• Professional Placements
• Volunteering on projects

15. 3. Networking
• Acknowledged by employers as highly beneficial
• Encouraged by UTS academics
• Considered important by UTS alumni in gaining entry-level
positions

16. 4. Technical Skills
• Industry-standard softwares
• File management and editing skills
• Generalist vs. specialist skills

17. 5. Non-technical Skills
• Wide range of valued personal attributes
• Relatively small industry in Australia
• Technical vs. non-technical skills

18. 6. Production Portfolio
• Important factor in revealing a student/graduates abilities
• Online and printed versions
• Methods of selection and presentation

19. 7. The Interview and CV
• Familiarity with company, company history and position description
• Prepared responses
• Clear and concise CV

20. 8. Entry-level Positions
• Wide variety of production assistant roles:
• Video Production Specialist
• Senior Online and Content Producer
• Production Accounting Assistant
• Documentary Director
• Documentary Researcher
• Writer/Segment Producer
• Co-Producer
• Freelance Director
• Designer
• Compositor
• Technological developments opening up new positions

21. 9. Advancement Opportunities
• Much room for professional advancement
• E.g. Trainee Captioner > Level 3 Captioner > Level 2 Captioner >
Level 1 Captioner > Supervisor > Manager
• Echoed by UTS alumni

22. 10. Industry Events
• Wide range of industry events held by a variety of organisations:
• SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers)
• Semi-Permanent
• Screen Hub
• AFTRS (Australian Film, Television & Radio School)
• Screen Australia
• AIMIA (Australian Interactive Media Industry Association)
• DLF (Digital Labourers Federation)
• Ideal for networking and broadening interests
• Important for employers to maintain a presence within the
industries

23. 11. Academic Record
• Mixed views on importance of academic record
• Indicator of intelligence, aptitude and dedication
• Practical experience and production portfolio generally regarded as
more important than academic record alone

24. 12. Current and Future Industry Trends
• Affordability of production equipment
• Increased competition for jobs
• Difficulty in finding suitably skilled graduates
• Opportunities brought about by explosion in digital media

25. Project Outcomes
• Student Information Booklet
• Final Report for Department of Education, Employment and
Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
• Audio files comprising excerpts of academic and employer
interviews and compiled by key themes
• Both the booklet & the audio files are on our Communications
Courses page:
http://datasearch2.uts.edu.au/fass/communication/courses/producti
on/index.cfm