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Media release
TAFE Digital | 21 June 2025
TAFE NSW helps Jan draw up new dreams as a building designer
“We have a real responsibility to the built environment to take it in a positive direction. It’s not just about sustainability but how it fits into the bigger picture of economics and people.”
Jan Ellis
TAFE NSW has helped a former acclaimed writer, actor and video producer perform an unlikely professional reinvention – as a building designer.
Jan Ellis, 51, from Stanwell Park, enjoyed a 20-year career as a writer and actor in his native South Africa before emigrating to Australia in 2007.
He pivoted to the other side of the camera, working as a video producer and broadcast engineer before deciding on a career “third act” as a building designer.
Enter TAFE Digital. Working as a labourer to supplement his income while studying, Mr Ellis enrolled in a Diploma of Building Design at TAFE Digital, drawn to the flexible, self-paced nature of the online course.
In March 2023, he secured his dream job as an architectural technician with Lippmann Partnership, a top-tier architectural and design practice in Sydney.
“I was initially drawn to the building plans on the smoko table while I was working as a labourer and making that link between the drawings and what I was working on,” he said.
“That relationship between design and construction really sparked my thinking on whether it could be a career option for me.
“We have a real responsibility to the built environment to take it in a positive direction. It’s not just about sustainability but how it fits into the bigger picture of economics and people.”
His appetite for learning at TAFE Digital was insatiable, completing the two-year course in 18 months and averaging in the mid-90s for exams.
“Being able to do the course in my own time around my busy lifestyle was great,” Mr Ellis said. “I built up a great rapport with my teacher, who had incredible industry experience, and he remains a real mentor to me.”
Mr Ellis’ project drawings while at TAFE Digital were of such a high standard, he was named a finalist in the 2022 Building Design Association of Australia Student Awards. His drawings have also been included in the curriculum of a new course at TAFE Digital, the Certificate IV in Residential Drafting.
TAFE Digital building design teacher William Hendricks said Mr Ellis was a powerful example of how TAFE NSW armed graduates with the practical skills and experience to thrive professionally.
“Jan’s attention to detail was exceptional and to secure his first job as a designer at a big Sydney firm is testament to that,” Mr Hendricks said.
“Our graduates are in high demand and it’s an industry where you can start your own business and have a rewarding career.”
He said the Certificate IV in Residential Drafting was a pre-requisite for those wanting to enrol in the Diploma of Building Design. He said building designers were similar to architects but focused more on smaller structures, such as homes.
According to the Australian Government's Job Outlook and reports from SkillsIQ, there has been a growing demand for building designers and other professionals in the construction industry due to ongoing infrastructure and housing projects.
Media contact: Dan Johns, TAFE NSW Communications Specialist, 02 7920 5000.
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