That assessment, however, couldn't be further from the truth. A quick glance at WorkBC's career outlooks reveals a large and growing demand for highly skilled creative professionals in B.C. - the precise types of professionals who graduate from Visual College of Art & Design (VCAD).
Take, for example, the video game industry, which employs some 16,500 people and contributes $2.3 billion to national GDP. The hub of that vibrant industry is right here in Vancouver. Not surprisingly, WorkBC reports that average salary, job stability and growth in demand for qualified interactive media developers are all high. For video game developers and mobile game developers, the future is bright.
An increasing desire for visual and "brand" appeal are driving demand for graphic designers and illustrators, and careers in 3D modeling animation and design are surging as B.C.'s film and television industry grows (it's currently the third largest production centre in North America). The expansion of that industry is also fuelling a parallel demand for fashion designers to create costumes and other garments for productions.
Those creative fashion professionals with a particular penchant for marketing, such as those who graduate from VCAD's Marketing and Merchandising for Fashion program, are increasingly being sought out by apparel companies, whose enthusiasm to break into Canadian markets is driving massive expansion projects at shopping malls across the country - including here in Vancouver.
Naturally, all those new retail spaces will need to be designed by professionally trained interior designers who have an eye for great design while also understanding the intricacies of functional space design.
Now, perhaps more than ever, VCAD is poised to help students enter some of the most exciting careers in B.C. While a boom in the trades and resource sector may be driving the economies of B.C.'s rural communities, it's creative professionals who are the heartbeat of its urban centres.
Discover your creative future today at VCAD's Open House on August 21, 2014, 6-8pm. RSVP at www.openhouse.vcad.ca.
Contacts: Media Contact Amanda Yeo amanda.yeo@vcad.ca
