 FutureNow is delighted to welcome Chloë Donaldson to the team in the newly created role of Screen Industry Careers Officer.
Chloë brings almost 20 years of experience across the Australian screen industry, spanning television, feature film, documentary, news, reality and factual entertainment. Her career has taken her through a wide range of roles, from production coordination and feature film accounting to creative producing, most recently in a senior creative producing role on MasterChef Australia. Born and raised in WA, Chloë began her screen career locally before going on to work across major national and international productions, while maintaining strong connections with the Western Australian industry. She brings extensive production knowledge and industry relationships to FutureNow, as well as a longstanding interest in mentoring and supporting emerging practitioners. Chloë’s experience across so many different areas of production gives her a first-hand understanding of the breadth of careers that make the screen industry possible, and of the skills and capabilities productions need from their workforce. While roles such as director, actor or camera operator may be familiar, every production relies on a much wider mix of creative, technical, production, business and specialist expertise. As Screen Industry Careers Officer, Chloë will work across industry, education and training to strengthen connections between workforce needs and the pathways that prepare people for screen careers. Alongside developing new career resources and engaging with schools and young people, she will work with industry, training providers, educators and other stakeholders to build shared understanding of current and emerging skills needs and help ensure education and training remains responsive to a rapidly evolving sector. Western Australia’s screen industry is entering a period of significant growth, supported by increased production activity and investment in the sector. Building the local workforce needed to support that growth means both helping more Western Australians see and understand the opportunities available, and ensuring the pathways into industry are developing the skills and capabilities it needs. We’re very pleased to have Chloë on board and look forward to the contribution she will make to building a strong and sustainable screen workforce in Western Australia.  FutureNow is pleased to announce recruitment for a new Screen Industry Careers Officer.*
FutureNow has worked closely with industry, education, training and government stakeholders to understand the challenges and opportunities surrounding the WA Screen industry, and is now expanding its workforce development activities to support delivery of a range of initiatives aimed at strengthening career pathways into the sector. The new part-time role will focus on developing career information resources, engaging with secondary schools, supporting industry collaboration and helping to strengthen workforce pathways across the sector. * NOTE This recruitment round has now closed. Please contact FutureNow directly with any further enquiries. View the SEEK advertisement and APPLY View and download the Position Description  The Western Australian Government has established a Creative Industries Taskforce to help guide the ongoing development of the State’s creative economy. The group is intended to inform government policy and strengthen connections across sectors such as screen, performance, music, design, digital innovation and First Nations arts.
The taskforce will advise on priorities under Creative WA, the Government’s ten-year vision for cultural and creative development, and contribute to strategies within Diversify WA, the State’s broader economic diversification framework. Its work will include identifying areas with strong growth potential, supporting commercial innovation, expanding access to new markets, and enhancing collaboration across industry, education and community stakeholders. Members have been selected for their leadership and experience across Western Australia’s creative industries. The group includes practitioners, executives and sector advocates from arts organisations, design, theatre, fashion, creative tech and music, among others. A central task for the group will be overseeing the development of an action plan to guide future industry growth and help shape long-term pathways for creative businesses and practitioners in WA. The announcement forms part of a series of recent state initiatives aimed at supporting the creative sector’s sustainability and economic contribution, including investment in industry programs and infrastructure. Read the full Western Australian Government media release on the establishment of the Creative Industries Taskforce  FutureNow Industry Development Manager, Melissa Harkins, recently spoke to 150 education professionals to showcase career pathways in the tourism and hospitality sector for high school students.
Delivered by Tourism WA, the event aimed to showcase the diverse and rewarding career pathways open to young Western Australians. Building on the success of the 2023 and 2024 events, this year's program features interactive industry activations, panel discussions, and presentations showcasing traineeships, apprenticeships, and higher education pathways in the tourism and hospitality sectors. The program aims to create a sustainable local tourism and hospitality workforce pipeline and further diversify WA's economy by creating local jobs and providing a boost to local businesses. In the 2024-25 financial year, WA's tourism and hospitality industry supported over 120,000 local jobs, ranking it the fifth largest sector in the State. The Western Australian screen sector is set to benefit from $10.8 million in funding provided to Screenwest by Lotterywest- the largest grant to date under their longstanding support program. This investment builds on Lotterywest’s three-decade association with Screenwest, helping to sustain a vibrant and growing film, television and digital content industry across WA.
With this funding, Screenwest aims to stimulate more in-state production, open up pathways for emerging and established local talent, encourage genuine WA-based storytelling- including stronger representation of First Nations voices- and deliver a wide range of screen content that reflects WA's diverse communities. The support comes at a time of significant growth for the sector. Screenwest continues to offer grants and incentives across development, production, games and industry-building initiatives to nurture talent and build capacity for major screen productions in WA. The funding helps ensure that more stories rooted in local culture and experience can be told, and that the industry remains strong, inclusive and ready for the next generation of filmmakers, producers and digital creators.  Supported by a $10 million grant from Austrade, Accommodation Australia Industry Association has developed a platform called “eger”. Set to launch in March 2025, it is a new careers and training resource designed to tackle workforce shortages, skill development, and career growth in industries critical to Australia’s visitor economy; tourism, hospitality and travel. The platform is designed to be a one stop shop to help tourism and hospitality workers grow their skill sets to help continue to build their careers and help businesses find the employees they need. The platform will offer tools for education, training, and career advancement, providing a central resource for employers to find talent and employees to explore opportunities across the sector.
Learn more about eeger here.  The 30th anniversary of the WA Training Awards last Friday night showcased the incredible talents of the creative and leisure industries, with contributions from photographers, caterers, live technicians, event planners, student florists, hairdressers, beauticians, radio hosts, and performers. Our industries played a key role in making the event a spectacular celebration of training excellence.
Highlights from the night include:
 Image: FreePix.uk The 2024 – 25 Federal Budget has been announced – find key investments for your industries below.
Tourism, Hospitality, Events, Travel
Arts & Recreation
Training
The Federal Budget documents may be accessed here General analysis: ABC analysis Centre for Future Work paper Michelle Grattan on the RBA’s response to the Budget Travel and tourism: Tourism and Transport Forum media statement Travel Weekly reflection. Print: Print 21 industry response to the Budget Arts and recreation: ArtsHub overview of the Budget Limelight magazine overview NAVA responds to the Federal Budget Theatre Network Australia’s response ScreenHub Australia reviews the Budget A detailed breakdown of investment in the screen and broadcasting sector Australian Sports Commission welcomes Federal Budget Training and education: The Conversation article on higher education The Conversation article on the Future Made in Australia initiative  THRIVE 2030 is Australia's national strategy for the long-term sustainable growth of the visitor economy. Austrade would like to hear from stakeholders in the tourism industry regarding the challenges facing your region or business (including workforce development). Click here to read the THRIVE 2030 Action Plan.
 The West Australian Government has released a 10- year plan for the West Australian Screen sector. The strategy, launched by Minister Templeman and produced by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural industries contains the following Vision statement.
"Western Australia has a world-renowned screen industry showcasing exceptional creative content and stories to the world. Government and industry align to create new highly skilled jobs, attract investment and activity to grow and diversify our economy, and enrich our cultures and our people." The strategy is organised around the pillars of Enabling a screen friendly WA, growing opportunities through Production incentives, developing required Infrastructure, both metropolitan and regional and building capacity and capability in the screen Workforce across a diverse range of platforms. Please access the strategy here. |
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