17 aspiring creatives who have been learning from industry professionals and creating their portfolios - and who are now ready to use their talent to make an impact in design, advertising, marketing, media and communications - were honoured at the recent D&AD Shift with Google Sydney event.
Over drinks and canapés at the graduate showcase at Bangarra Dance Theatre in Walsh Bay, attendees celebrated the class of 2023, the second Shift Sydney cohort of the free, industry-led night school that helps self-taught creatives from under-represented backgrounds enter the advertising, design and creative industry from outside traditional pathways.
The Shift Sydney class of 2023 are Ella Gilberg, John Paine, Jess Stapleton, Minori Ueda, Raf Potenza, Daniel Muscat, Rey Vargas, Rodney Todd, Marmi Alatipi, Tom Gregory, Rubee-Rose Stephenson, Kent Boumaïza, Andrew Riis, Sammara Woolrich, Ayah Darwich, Binti Kamara, Hannah Churchill.
Internationally, Shift has trained over 300 creatives in London, New York, Sydney, Hamburg and Berlin since 2016 with an average of 74% of Shifters going on to creative jobs and placements after completing the programme.
After the program launch in Sydney in 2022, 88% of the inaugural class of Shifters have gone onto working in the Sydney commercial creative industry employed by the likes of The Monkeys, Heckler, Abel, and BMF Australia.
Lauren Chibert, D&AD Shift with Google Sydney lead producer, said just like other regions, the Australian commercial creative industry severely lacks diversity, but due to various barriers at play, often agencies struggle to reach candidates from diverse backgrounds.
"Shift forces us to rethink how we recruit by equipping self-taught creatives with the industry skills they need to thrive," she said.
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