Career courses that keep studies short and sweet

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Special skills: Sound engineering is one of the career areas explored in short courses at Boston Media House.

Boston Media House has developed a range of short courses to meet demand by the public and industry.

It now offers more than 12 short courses, for which people may enrol at any time throughout the year.

According to Claire Wrogemann, deputy principal of Boston Media House, not everyone has the need or the time to enrol for the full three-year diploma in media practices.

Some people have been working in the industry for many years and simply need to brush up their knowledge or update their know-how with the newest developments and tools.

Others would like to add new skills to their arsenal so they may progress or move into new positions in their workplace.

Matriculants who have not enrolled for other studies may complete a short course so they may get started in a career.

Then there are the fortunate few who would like to start a hobby that stimulates their creativity. They may enrol for a short course that teaches them the basics in a short time.

Often, once they have mastered the skills, people go on to earn money from their hobbies, as a sideline or as a small business – which, Wrogemann points out, is a great bonus in this time of tight budgets.

“I think what attracts people to short courses is that they allow them to focus exclusively on their passion or work,” she says.

“In a short time you can get skills and knowledge in one particular area without having to do other additional subjects or modules, as in the case of a longer qualification.

“If you prefer the short, intense, and focused approach, then short courses are definitely the way to go.”

Another attractive feature is that short courses are cost-effective – you pay only for a couple of weeks or months of tuition, unlike year-long courses.

The short courses on offer at the Media House Sandton campus include: graphic design (three months); Pro Tools principles (two weeks); Pro Tools advanced (two weeks); sound engineering (three months); radio production (three months); photography (three months); introduction to Maya 3D animation (two weeks); Maya MoVT character rigging (three weeks); Maya Walk Cycle (three weeks); Maya Humanoid Modelling (three weeks); mobile marketing fundamentals (three months); video production (three months); radio presenting (three months); digital music production (three months).

l To find out more, contact Riaan Bothma or Best Ndlovu at: 011 883 0933.