Thank you to Mr. Mike Saywell, Director of the Design School, who spoke at assembly recently.

Mr. Saywell had a great message about the value of the creative industries in New Zealand and the challenges that are involved in channeling one’s creative passions into a career. He explained that doing this is the role of the Design School.

Mr. Saywell shared a quote from Ernest Rutherford to support the idea that creativity and design are about thought, adaptability and ingenuity – taking ideas and transforming them into the things that we use in our daily life. He highlighted that it is often when there are problems with design – something that doesn’t look right or do the job that it is meant to do – that it comes to our attention.

Alongside the ideas for the design, people need the technical skills to follow up and turn the idea into a product and this is a huge growth area in the New Zealand economy. In 2017 there were 120,000 ‘designers’ in New Zealand and it is estimated that there will be annual growth of 10% across a wide range of fields.

We have a number of young men in Year 12 and 13 who attend the Design School each week alongside their school studies. This programme is run through the UCOL Trades Academy but delivered by the Design School. To find out more about the Design School options please see Mr. Barwick, the Careers Advisor.

Click here to find out more about The Design School.