中文The Visual Media Association (VMA) is calling on emerging talent across Australia’s print and visual media industries to join The Inkers, take part in its Make Your Mark program, complete the initiative’s national survey, and put their hand up to become the next generation of Markers. It is a deliberate investment in the people who will carry the industry forward at a time when workforce development is one of its most pressing challenges.
The Inkers is the VMA’s nationally coordinated emerging-talent program, created to connect, develop and give greater visibility to early-career professionals across print, packaging, publishing, signage, media and manufacturing. Supported by Platinum Partner Konica Minolta, the program is designed to build stronger leadership pathways while giving the next generation a direct voice in the future of the industry. At its center are the Markers: emerging professionals who act as ambassadors for The Inkers, representing different states, regions, roles and career pathways.
The first group of nine Markers helped establish the program nationally, share the perspectives of younger industry professionals, and build stronger connections between emerging talent and established leaders. Now the VMA is calling for a second group of Markers, with the next phase focused on growing participation, hearing directly from emerging talent, and building a strong application pipeline.
VMA CEO Kellie Northwood said The Inkers is about creating a place for the next generation to connect, be heard, and build the confidence and capability to become future leaders. She pointed to the incredible young people already working across print, packaging, signage, supply, technology, sales, marketing and production, and said the association wants more of them involved. The call is both an invitation and a challenge: sign up, complete the survey, and put a hand up for active leadership roles.
As part of the Make Your Mark program, participants and Markers gain access to a six-part development series built to develop practical skills, industry knowledge and professional confidence. Sessions cover industry site tours, mental health and wellbeing, AI learning and training, media training, sustainability, sales development, workplace environment education and practical career guidance. Together they give emerging talent a broader view of the industry while strengthening the communication, commercial, leadership and wellbeing capabilities that support long-term careers.
Alongside the call for Markers, the VMA is encouraging emerging professionals to complete The Inkers survey. Northwood was blunt about the rationale: the association does not want to build a program for emerging talent without listening to emerging talent. The survey is a simple way for people to say what they need from employers, industry and The Inkers itself, and those insights will shape the next stage of the program.
The Inkers also promotes connection between generations through networking, local representation and reverse mentorship, creating space for younger professionals to share ideas with senior leaders while learning from established figures. For employers, the message is that supporting emerging talent to join, complete the survey and consider applying as a Marker is a practical way to recognize and develop promising employees while connecting them to a national network.
With skills and workforce development among the most important issues facing the industry, The Inkers gives the VMA a concrete platform to invest in people. As Northwood concluded, if you are building your career in the industry, the association wants to hear from you, and to help shape the next generation of print and visual media leadership.
The program lands at a critical moment for the Australian industry, which, like its peers globally, faces a demographic squeeze as experienced operators retire faster than they are replaced. By giving early-career professionals visibility and a peer network, The Inkers attacks both sides of the problem: it helps retain talent that might otherwise drift to more visible sectors, and it builds the leadership pipeline the industry will rely on in a decade.
Konica Minolta’s role as Platinum Partner is more than financial. As a technology supplier, it has a direct stake in a skilled customer base that can adopt automation, colour management and digital print with confidence. The reverse-mentorship element is especially shrewd: senior leaders gain early sight of how a younger, often more digitally native workforce expects to work, while newcomers learn the hard-won context that only comes from experience. If the second cohort matches the first group’s momentum, The Inkers could become a template other markets quietly copy.
Industry observers note that programs like The Inkers also help counter a persistent perception problem: that print and visual media are legacy sectors with limited career upside. By showcasing site tours, technology exposure and direct access to senior leaders, the VMA is reframing the industry as one where skilled, curious people can build long careers at the intersection of manufacturing, design and software. For a sector competing for talent against tech and services employers, that narrative work is as important as any single training module, and the survey data will help the association prove the case with evidence rather than anecdote.
Source: Print21 (https://print21.com.au/vma-calls-for-next-markers-for-inkers/)
