By Catherine Cranston
For Karl Svikis, a TAFE education gave him the tools and confidence to succeed in radio.
Whether your plans are to work in the media industry straight after TAFE, further refine your craft through volunteer work, or use credit transfers into a university degree there are many options once you graduate.
Another pathway for Screen and Media Diploma students is to further their studies at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in Sydney.
AFTRS has a long connection with TAFE Screen and Media at Ultimo. In 2025 there are six TAFE Media Radio alumni, including Karl Svikis, enrolled in the Graduate Diploma in Radio and Podcasting at AFTRS.
Svikis credits his education at TAFE for preparing him for AFTRS.
“TAFE provided a consistent time weekly for my classmates and I to practise making shows and to go on air,” said Svikis. “Just getting that time behind the microphone was really important and helped to build that base-level skill.“
TAFE teachers also guided students through the AFTRS application process, helping them to form ideas and providing valuable feedback. There are also scholarships and part scholarships available at AFTRS to make the fees more affordable.
Halfway through the fulltime course Svikis has high praise for AFTRS
“I’ve loved every second of it,” he said. “It’s been a pretty steep step up in the workload and complexity of what we’re doing, but it’s been a welcome challenge.
“Getting to do proper radio simulations, try all the different roles of a broadcast team and being in that manic live environment allowed for so much learning and growth very quickly.”
The Convenor of Radio and Podcasting at AFTRS, Natalie Pozdeev, was the former Screen and Media head teacher at Ultimo and said AFTRS thinks very highly of the TAFE education system.
“We do have similar philosophies of teaching media and how students kind of, you know, learn by making a lot of stuff,” said Pozdeev.
Future Student Engagement Officer Kerrod Meredith-Creed, a former TAFE NT and AFTRS student, said a third of all new undergraduate and post-graduate students enrolled at AFTRS have come through the TAFE system.
After completing his diploma in the Northern Territory, Meredith-Creed wasn’t sure what pathways were available until he moved to Sydney to study at AFTRS.
Since graduating, and while working at AFTRS, he has been able to maintain a career, from producing plays to writing for horror films.
“You know, there’s so much things and so many possibilities,” he said. “And I think that’s what the difference is with AFTRS is that they make sure that students, when they come in, that they will be set up and they will know how to understand the industry and find their pathway.”
Pozdeev said that a TAFE and AFTRS education offers plenty of opportunity and flexibility in a broad range of careers.
“Working in radio and podcasting doesn’t preclude you from moving into other creative spaces because I find that people who do these sorts of pathways they’re interested in the life and the world around them, so it makes sense that you might find lots of different interesting things to do.”
Svikis already has his goals set and plans to be part of a team working on either a podcast or radio show by the end of 2025.
“Being in this industry and creative environment has been so much fun and it’s where I want to be. Eventually I’d love to be hosting my own shows but I’m excited for the journey that’ll take me there.”
Featured image: Australian Film Television and Radio School student Karl Svikis (left) and the Moore Park campus. Photos: Catherine Cranston