Future Ready Forum: Honouring the Past, Shaping the Future

We are excited to present Committee for Perth’s Future Ready Forum: Honouring the Past, Shaping the Future in celebration of 125 years of Creative Industries training at North Metropolitan TAFE, on Wednesday, 25 June.

Since the establishment of the Perth Technical School in 1900, North Metropolitan TAFE has played a vital role in nurturing generations of artists, creatives and business leaders, and remains at the forefront of innovation in education and training for Western Australia’s future creative workforce.

This special Committee for Perth lunch will take place within the Artist.Teacher.125 years exhibition, which showcases works from the NMTAFE collection and celebrates the legacy and future of professional arts education in WA. Join Managing Director Michelle Hoad and artist-lecturer Mark Datodi as they offer insights into the collection and reflect on the diverse practices and influences shaping NMTAFE’s artists and educators. These contributions continue to play a vital role in shaping Perth’s creative future towards 2050.

We hope you can join us to reflect on the past and explore the future of education pathways to prosperity.

Our speakers

Michelle Hoad

As the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of North Metropolitan TAFE, Michelle leads the largest vocational training provider in Western Australia. Welcoming over 30,000 students every year, North Metro TAFE plays a significant role to build Western Australia’s workforce and community capability. 

With a background in organisational psychology, Michelle is an advocate for the role of skills development in a strong economy. Courses and campuses are matched to the key industries that underpin Western Australian productivity and build local supply chain capacity. Working with government and industry, North Metro TAFE training is continually evolving to keep pace with new and emerging sectors, including clean energy, cyber security, resources and rail, health and the creative industries. 

Under Michelle’s leadership, North Metro TAFE has embraced advanced training pedagogies to provide exciting and transformative learning experiences that will maximise employability and career growth.

Michelle is passionate about building diversity and capacity in the Western Australian workforce and community. Over a 25-year career, Michelle has worked in regional and metropolitan TAFE Colleges, collaborating across government and the private sector to deliver outcomes for our unique Western Australian skills needs. 

Mark Datodi

Mark Datodi is a visual artist from Western Australia with over twenty years of experience creating artworks for public spaces and gallery exhibitions. Drawing inspiration from both natural and built environments, Mark’s work articulates patterns, forms, shapes, and structures in a clear, poetic, and minimalist style.

His art practice is multidisciplinary, encompassing various two- and three-dimensional formats while embracing new technologies in innovative ways. Through practical experience, he has developed skills and expertise in the conceptual, aesthetic, and technical elements of design and the production of artworks for public spaces.

Mark has experience working on large-scale projects that integrate artworks into architectural structures and landscapes, such as seating, fencing, canopies, screens, signage, lighting, and iconic sculptural markers.