Over the past two years, the Visual Media Association (VMA) has listened closely to emerging professionals, business owners, educators and government. We have examined the data, heard the stories, and confronted the reality of skills shortages, workforce attrition, and an ageing demographic. The result of that work is The Inkers – Make Your Mark, a national, industry-led movement designed to support, retain and empower the next generation of our workforce.
The launch of The Inkers in 2025 was not symbolic. It was deliberate. It was built by industry, for industry, in response to a national challenge we all share. With apprentice non-completion rates sitting alarmingly high and competition for talent intensifying across manufacturing and creative sectors, doing nothing was not an option.
What has followed has been one of the most energising developments I have seen in my time leading the Association and I take this opportunity to thank our platinum partner, Konica Minolta, for its foundational support in bringing this essential project to life.
From concept to community
The Inkers was designed as more than a mentoring program. It is a community, a platform, and a pathway. Through its four pillars, skills development, mentorship and intergenerational leadership, networking and local representation, and recognition and visibility, the program has already begun to change how emerging professionals experience our industry.
Central to this has been the appointment of The Markers, early-career professionals from metropolitan and regional Australia, spanning apprentices, designers, account managers, production leaders, marketers and specialists across print, packaging, sign and visual media. The Markers are not symbolic representatives, they are advisors, contributors and leaders in their own right. They chair their own meetings, shape program direction, and bring the emerging talent voice directly into national strategy.
What excites me most is not just their capability, but their confidence. These are future business owners, board directors, technical specialists and creative leaders already stepping into responsibility, while being supported, visible and backed by industry.
2026: Bringing everyone in
As we move into 2026, our ambition is clear – every early-career professional in our industry should feel they belong in The Inkers community.
This is the year we scale. This is the year we deepen connection, expand opportunity and strengthen retention. It is also the year we bring employers even closer to the journey.
That is why we are launching a new national series in 2026 – ‘Bring Your Boss’.
This initiative is simple, and powerful. It creates space for emerging professionals and their employers to come together, not as hierarchy, rather as partners, to share experiences, expectations and ideas. It opens mature conversations about what good mentoring looks like, how knowledge is transferred, how leadership is learned, and how workplaces can better support growth on both sides.
Because retention and growth pathways are not just the responsibility of the individual, rather a shared commitment.
Mentorship, inclusion and safe workplaces
The future leaders of our industry are telling us what they need – guidance without judgement; opportunity without assumption; and workplaces where they feel safe, included and heard.
The Inkers program is deliberately designed to foster barrier-breaking conversations, across generations, genders, cultures, learning pathways and career stages. Through leadership development, mental health training, reverse mentoring and structured engagement, we are supporting emerging professionals to build confidence and resilience, while also supporting businesses to build inclusive, sustainable cultures.
Lifting leadership
Strong industries do not happen by accident. They are built through intentional investment in people, clear pathways and shared accountability.
A call to employers
To our business leaders, owners and managers, The Inkers is your program too.
When you support your apprentices, cadets and early-career professionals to participate, you are investing in capability. You are strengthening loyalty, improving retention and building leaders who understand your business, your values and your future.
We know this works. Employers are already telling us they see increased engagement, confidence and aspiration in their teams from recent correspondence with the employers of The Markers group. The Markers are bringing back new ideas, stronger networks, and a deeper understanding of the industry they are part of.
The return on investment is human — and it is real.
Shaping the industry
The print and visual media industry has always been adaptive, creative and resilient, however, resilience alone is not enough. We must be deliberate about the future we are building.
The Inkers is about ensuring our next generation does not just enter the industry, rather stays, grows and leads within it.
In 2026, we are calling on every early-career professional to step forward, connect and make their mark. And we are calling on every employer to stand beside them.
This is how we protect skills. This is how we build leaders. This is how we secure the future of our industry, together.
This article was first published in the January-February 2026 edition of Print21, page 38.