Evolving roles and expanding skills at Trinity

At Trinity, opportunities to broaden your horizons are in abundance. Working across departments, getting a peek into the world beyond your own role and expanding your skills is always possible for staff at Trinity, and many find themselves pivoting in their career and / or pursuing further study as a result of their experience. Mr John Blois is one of those staff members. 

After studying Marketing at TAFE, John took a traineeship in Live Audio Engineering, kickstarting his Audio-Visual (AV) career. But, the touring life isn’t for everyone, and soon enough, he was seeking out AV roles in schools, starting with St Andrew’s Cathedral School, before eventually landing at Trinity in the AV department as the Video Specialist in 2011. 

In the time since, John’s role has evolved many times, but so has the AV space. 

“It’s amazing to think about how much video has changed since then – we were recording to tapes at the time! – and how important it has become as a communication device.” 

For many years, his role required him to capture the life of the School, from the biggest events to the smallest student achievements, John was across it all. 

“I gained such a broad insight into all the different areas that make up the Trinity community,” he says. “This served me well when I moved from AV into the new Marketing & Communications (MarComms) Department in 2019, where my new role of Digital Content Co-ordinator evolved even further.” 

It was this move into MarComms that was the catalyst for John to pursue further study. Throughout his time at Trinity, he’d already engaged in numerous short courses at AFTRS which had culminated in an Industry Certificate for Content Creation, something he found very helpful, but he wanted to take it further. 

“I felt that content creation was really only a small part of the video process, and I wanted to explore how aligning videos with the Schools strategic goals would serve the School even more successfully.”

Initially, he thought this would mean heading back to his Marketing roots to study it further, but it became clear that Communications was the path he wanted to explore, so, earlier in 2022, he dived headfirst into a Masters of Communications online. 

Pursuing this study and furthering his education is an endeavour that has been encouraged by Trinity as they support him through sharing the cost, but John knows that support goes further than the financials. 

“Just working in MarComms under our Director who has been a Comms guru her whole career makes me feel like this is the right time and place for me to begin this journey.

“I haven’t studied at University before, so it has been a bit challenging, but being able to apply my learnings to my work means I’m gaining practical skills as I go. A greater understanding of Communications is something that will not just benefit me in my career, but being able to combine it with my understanding of the Trinity community means that we can share the rich stories of our School with our many audiences – I’m excited about that.” 

As he studies, his role continues evolving as he looks for new opportunities to put what he’s learning into practice and expand his skills. 

“I’m now part of co-ordinating much of the content made by others in the School. This includes not just the staff, but also co-curricular students who I hope to assist in producing content that communicates what they’re trying to say, effectively.”

John’s involvement with the Co-Curricular Media Production Crew has given him the chance to see students growing in their skills and experience outside of the classroom, developing interests they didn’t previously have. 

“Some of the students really seem to kick into gear when given added responsibility to make sure an event runs properly, and it’s been great to see that growth in so many young men over the years – some of whom we’ve even brought back to work with us after they’ve graduated!

“I feel strongly that video creation is becoming such an essential skill for professionals no matter what field they work in, so to be able to consider how I can help foster this in others that are earlier in their journey than I am is something I hope to explore further.” 

“I’ve been given such a breadth of experience at Trinity, and consider it a privilege to have been able to collaborate with students and staff in so many parts of it, to connect their stories with the wider community.”

Want to know more about working at Trinity? Check out all the employment opportunities available.