Dana Lee is assistant professor, School of Radio and Television Arts, Ryerson University in Toronto, and has written the book Television Technical Theory: Unplugged, used by operations departments in television and teaching facilities.

The opportunities for highly skilled and highly versatile talent in all fields of the rapidly changing media industry are vast. This is prompting those already employed within the media industry to search for ways to upgrade their skills while juggling busy work schedules.

When it comes to filling positions, organizations tend to look inside first. Making sure that you have the skill set they need – or showing that you’re proactively improving your professional capabilities – is one of the best ways to take control of your career opportunities.

The media business will always be about storytelling, but the adoption of new technologies means that the way in which the story is told (by Internet, HD or portable device) is up for grabs. Whether your background is in production or writing, to keep pace you need to not only stay one step ahead of the next innovation in your particular field, but be aware of where others are headed as well.

In many respects, the more the media industry becomes fragmented, the more integrated employees need to be when it comes to skills development. Combining media writing skills with a video production career or audio technology with a background in interactive design is a great way to stay flexible in today’s workplace. This also makes it all the more important that academic institutions’ options for training become more flexible, too.

To help strike a balance between developing skills and the ability to still earn a living, Ryerson University’s G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is now offering three new certificates – Television Production Fundamentals, Audio Production Fundamentals and Media Writing Fundamentals. The programs give access to the same faculty and facilities offered in Ryerson’s School of Radio and Television and Arts undergraduate university program, including the university’s computing laboratories and networked media facilities, including Studio A – the first HD television studio in Canada.

Whether it’s improving skills so you can better write for electronic media, work in an HD studio or make a transition to digital sound design, it’s key to emerge from any training program being able to hit the studio running, which is why RTA teaches ‘production sense,’ a broader media instinct that is a combination of both skill and media savvy.

The certificate programs, then, offer an opportunity for media organizations to explore cutting-edge technologies. Employees can learn and practice their skills using state-of-the-art equipment, ultimately helping their organization be ready for future upgrades.

Each certificate program consists of six to eight courses, providing the flexibility of taking one course per semester, an arrangement aimed at those who are already in the industry and don’t want to go back to school full-time. In fact, 80% of those enrolled at The Chang School have full-time jobs.

Schools such as Ryerson understand that this flexible structure should satisfy not only employees but also their employers, who may not want to ‘lose’ a team member, yet who do want to ensure that the investment in training will yield a quality experience.

www.ryerson.ca/ce/rta