Richard Bourne of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology has no doubt what the purpose of the school is: to get graduates into jobs. ‘The focus is to find students jobs and good jobs with a future.’

And it seems that function is being performed admirably.

Surveys conducted six months after graduation from the two-year program reveal some remarkable statistics: a total of 96% of graduates are employed somewhere, with 85% in the field of their choice. And that is with the proviso that sometimes ‘jobs go begging’ in smaller rural communities when graduates hold out for a big-city position, says Bourne, academic co-ordinator at sait.

Study in the Cinema, Television, Stage and Radio program is actually built around film and video, television, broadcast news and radio.

And unsurprisingly, competition for spots in the 98-place program is fierce. More than 500 applicants annually are winnowed down until two applicants for every place are left, and these are interviewed.

Bourne says the interview process is designed to pinpoint some evidence of an aptitude for artistry, some evidence of teamwork, which the program sets great store by, and to weed out those lacking true commitment. ‘We’re on guard against people who decide that [working in film and television] would be cool but have no dedication or commitment.’ Teamwork is emphasized because ‘our employers tell us that 50% of what they look for is technical skill and the other 50% is to do with working on a team; being reliable and approachable.’

Throughout the course, sait immerses students in a close facsimile of the real world of film and television.

‘One of the things we try to do is maintain a production environment. We call it a production model,’ says Bourne. Accordingly, the television, film and video components of the course are set up to run like a production house, with students working on a series of projects in a variety of positions. ‘We try to simulate every position students would work on in the real world.’

Transition to the real world is also eased by way of short practicums whereby the television students may get three or four weeks in a television station and film students may pick up a day or two on a film shoot. And these are enabled by both the staff, who have at least five years experience in the industry (‘Three-quarters of our staff are active in the industry’ while teaching, Bourne says) and the advisory board of the program.

Advisory boards could be considerd sait’s secret weapon.

The advisory board (numbering roughly 30) meets twice a year and is typically composed of middle management – ‘anyone from the production manager to the news director.’

‘We like middle management [on the board] because they seem to know more about what the company is going to need in the long term.

The advisory board gives curriculum advice based on changes in the industry: for example, computers are being added in one course because of the preponderance of computer equipment in television production; and a proposal is in preparation for training in hdtv as the result of another advisory board recommendation.

sait’s course was, says Michel Gosselin, a 1995 graduate and director of news for two years now at Global Calgary, ‘exactly the right thing to do. It sent me on my way. I’m doing what I wanted to do now. It’s a fantastic course.’

Gosselin actually started working at Global as a switcher before graduation: the station phoned the school looking for students to take on work and he was recommended by a teacher.

Gosselin says 70% of the people he works with are sait graduates. ‘The quality of people coming out of sait is high. It was demanding, but I think if you have a genuine interest in [the field] it’s really fun. I never felt like it was work, I always felt like I was learning something I wanted to learn.’ *

-www.sait.ab.ca