As my business expands to a point where I may need to consider taking on an extra pair of hands to keep up with the workload, I have been thinking a lot about the next generation of web designers and developers and how prepared they are for the real world of web design on completion of their studies.

When I became interested in working in the web industry I wasn’t even 100% sure there was one! I was 16 and remember trailing into town with the family to get some books on this HTML thing that meant I could make a website of my own and that’s where it started, with books. I taught myself, often neglecting my traditional studies and ended up studying multimedia at TAFE after high-school.

Back then (1999) the web component of the course was very small, and as I’d already taught myself HTML, there wasn’t much to keep my interest. I kept working away in my own time learning about everything I could find until I was flicking through the paper one weekend only to have a job ad jump out at me, “HTML CRAFTSPERSON” - I couldn’t believe it, people actually got paid to write HTML! I was 19 at the time, and without thinking too hard about it I drew up a résumé and emailed it the same day.

Needless to say I was offered the job on the spot during the interview and left TAFE 2 days later to start a career as web professional, even if it was at the bottom of the pecking order. As an HTML Craftsperson my job was to work with the already existing websites, make additions, fix errors, etc, no actual creating websites from scratch. After a few months having proved my ability working with existing sites I was finally given a website to cut-up and build from scratch - I became a Front-End Developer.

That’s all very interesting, you might think, but what has it got to do with the title of this post? Well, I’m getting there. The point of my little trip down memory lane is that my entry into the industry was a combination of study (although private, not from a recognised institution) and practical experience, quite similar to an apprenticeship (without the formal study).

These days web design & development is treated as an academic stream with students expected to attend 3 years of university studying to be part of an industry that moves faster than an educational institution can develop coursework. Students (and I’m speaking generally here) come out of the university environment and into the workforce only to find what they’ve been learning for the last 3 years does not quite reflect the reality of the industry.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to have a combination of academic study (i.e programming principles, learning various languages, project management (personal), etc) and practical work experience where the students learn the realities working with a real web design company a couple of days a week where, like an apprenticeship, they are evaluated by their employer.

It’s a win-win situation for students and industry. The student gets a more realistic view of how things work in the real world, they learn what it’s like to be a web designer/developer getting paid to learn and the industry gets to be involved in the shaping of the next generation of designers and developers ensuring graduates are well suited to the jobs available.

I know I would consider taking on an apprentice if there was a formal system being run through TAFE, what do other people think? Are apprenticeships (or academic/practical hybrid courses) the way forward for the web industry or should we continue down the slightly disconnected from reality academic path?