 Andrew Rovenko
Andrew R is our Broadband Web Developer and resident genius working with the team in the Web Lab to bring this beautiful site to you and make sure it works. Thankfully for us he’s got a background in Applied Mathematics and spent 2 web years (that’s the equivalent of 7 human years) as Lead for videos on BigpondTV among other things.
| |  Andrew Sjoquist
Andrew S is our technical infrastructure manager with seemingly limitless patience and a capacity to retain specifications for every piece of IT equipment ever invented…in his brain. Give him another Red Bull and he’ll keep running. If we want to know the difference between a terabyte and a yotabyte we ask Andrew S.
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Helen Sjoquist Helen works with Peter Sjoquist on a range of social change projects and has been involved since the first ideas for SkillsOne came about. She's worked in the private sector and government and has provided advice during our start up phase. When she's not doing that, Helen is actually busy running the Croc Festival - a 10-year project to improve the lives, health and opportunities for Indigenous, rural and remote young people. | |  Kathryn Franco
Kathy leads the Web Lab as Head of Digital Media and works with 'the Peters' to integrate strategy and digital programming with the web platform. She’s a veteran of the Internet space but started out in film and TV with the original Sunday program. She was founding producer of ninemsn, David Jones Online and other web projects whilst co-founding a hi- tech distribution company. She's been at SkillsOne since before the start and she assures us, "the team are at the cutting edge." Find out about the Webby Award Nomination for SkillsOne |
 Lucy Nash
Lucy is the Senior Production Manager after starting as a Researcher. She stunt-doubles occasionally to help our viewers and web users get across the art of making Video CVs, for example. (She knows it works because she sent us one!) Having given up on a more "serious" career as a lawyer (!), Lucy is thrilled to find her home as a researcher for SkillsOne. “It’s the first job I’ve truly enjoyed,” she says. | |  Matt Jenkin
Debonair. Uncompromising. Professional. These are the attributes Matt wishes he had. In reality he’s a Video Journalist/Producer. Having worked in an advertising agency, dabbled in door-to-door sales and suffered mild strokes as the general manager of a gym, Matt is clearly over-qualified. He's looking forward to elevating the status of trade skills and keeps us laughing with his mock voice overs.
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 Samantha Haskins
Sam is our daily IT support engineer – yes, a woman among many men in IT! She can often be found pinging some machine (whatever that means), talking network stuff with Andrew S or fighting fires in the comms room… (thankfully not real ones). It’s fair to say there will always be something to do at SkillsOne...and the reason she needs to wear snow gear to work is: it's freezing in the server room!
| |  Peter Burge
Pete began as one of our esteemed Editors spending many hours in the dark and tries to balance that with travel, surfing and music. Not much has changed now that Pete is now our Head of Television spinning out hours of TV and web content with the team. He oversees production including the work of Video Journalists, setting our production values, shooting schedules and on air scheduling. Pete has been a producer, director, editor, grip, writer and cameraman since 2004 and trained at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.
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 Peter Faiman
The Paul Hogan Show, The Don Lane Show, Crocodile Dundee, Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Opening broadcast…do we need to say anything more? Pete is the creative force behind these and many other successful endevours. He has worked for Kerry and Rupert and guided so many successful projects from the Nine Network to BSkyB to FX that the credits would be too long to mention! He’s our creative guru and an inspiring guy keeping us focused at SkillsOne.
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Peter Sjoquist
Peter is the Executive Producer driving a vision of using television and the web for social good. He’s turned the original Sydney Rock Eisteddfod into a worldwide event with Global Rock Challenge . Unless you’ve been under a rock (get it?) for 25 years, you’ll know all about it from your school days. Peter is always thinking of new projects to make our world a better place. |
 Rodney Meier
Rodney is a Video Journalist and recently completed his digital media training only to step into a parallel universe when he started on a production called A Point of Interest – a program about people and their interests. Despite a sense of déjà vu, Rodney has jumped in feet first to get creative with graphics, 3D and editing right here. | | |
SkillsOne Alumni People who've made their mark along the way | | |
 Corey Maynard
Corey was an Editor during our first year when he wasn't busy doing freelance production and standing behind a camera for some major network productions. At SkillsOne he worked with Pete, Rishi, George and Simon to create some very special segments each week. | |  Emma Sampson
Emma was a Video Journalist during our first year. She said, “I have always enjoyed story telling and I am grateful to a job where story telling is required.” Her varied experiences include working in restaurants, a hairdressing salon and at a major bank along the way to Channel 31 and the Nine Network. She brought a smile and her skills in camera, writing, editing every day.
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 Fergus Cappie-Wood
Fergus helped make things happen as one of our Production Assistants. He’s was an enthusiastic, effective team member. He's put his mind to further studies. We wish him well!
| |  Geoff Tanner
Geoff was our founding Head of TV Production. He oversaw production including the work of Video Journalists, setting our production values, and shooting briefs. With over 20 years experience as a director and producer in broadcasting Geoff's worked on everything from Countdown to Beyond 2000 to Discovery Channel.
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 Heidi Krause
Heidi started out as the Broadband Web Producer. She worked as a news and current affairs producer and researcher for Channel Nine's Today show and a reporter for Reader's Digest magazine before moving online with Yahoo!7 News. Heidi also has an abandoned law degree and PhD in Psychology and has embraced the fact neither will be completed. Alas, it is our loss that she is now tripping around Mexico and Cuba!
| |  Jasmine Kostas
Jasmine spend 2007 as our News Journo and Presenter while finishing her formal journalism training and has already worked as a news reporter and researcher at ABC Radio Sydney, and Lateline on ABC Television. Her producing work can now be enjoyed on Nine's The Today Show. |
 John Young
John Young was a Video Journalist busy creating great segments. He came to us with a background in making amazing videos about young guys doing spectacular moves on stunt bikes around the world. His use of graphic design, editing, music and wide angle lenses have made his work at SkillsOne exciting. That quiet exterior is just a front for this sophisticated cameraman and story teller! | | 
Leilah Schubert
Leiliah was a Video Journalist. Having actually gone to the trouble of studying to be a video journalist she was “thrilled to discover that such a job did actually exist!” Her formal training and experience in research, writing and camera work made her super-calm most all the time. |
 Massimiliano (Max) Sappa
Max was a Video Journalist hailing from Italy via London where he studied Cinematics. Making us all seem inadequate, he speaks English, French and Italian, has a wicked sense of humour and can balance the books if need be – that diploma in accountancy is a handy thing. He’s made short films and programs that have aired on Nikelodeon and Sky Channel and many of SkillsOne's more humerous works are by Max.
| |  Rishi Shukla
Rishi is a senior editor …you could say a “master”…since he’s a graduate of the Masters of Editing program at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. He’s worked for Aunty (the ABC) on a variety of drama and documentary productions and is extremely focused. The aesthetic quality of Rishi’s work is impressive and he’s brought all that talent to SkillsOne. |
Warren Berkery
Writing a bio for Warren is like trying to write about a holy man. Or maybe Bob Dylan. “Legend” is a word that springs to mind…but we digress. Warren played the role of technical consultant and is well-known for his 44 years of innovation and inspiration at the Nine Network where he worked in Outside Broadcast and began the first microwave links. In between giving us some advice, he’s got some great yarns. We had to pull all the resources of SkillsOne to find a pic of Warren to spare us from one of his hand-held photos that would have him looking like a celebrity on steriods. | | 
Bradley Conomy
Brad is a Video Journalist/Producer with experience in docos and music videos. He’s a steady hand with camera-operating and has a passion for directing. As a self-declared philanthropist he enjoys creating viral-video content and insists he has joined SkillsOne to keep Matt focused! | |
George Kacevski
George started out as our Graphics and Fission Operator and is now on our team of Editors. That means he produces great finished work and dabbles in making the graphics look great. When its all said and done we know it was George who had to wait for even the most powerful Mac to render, and it was George who had to endure last minute changes and general creative banter from us! | | 
Liam MacKenzo
Liam began as a Researcher spending his time digging around for great segments our VJs can work on and making the odd cameo appearance if called upon. He’s been a civil servant, a kibbutznik in Israel (look it up), and a psychology researcher playing music to cows to increase their milk yield…among other things. After moving to here from the UK he is really happy to have landed at SkillsOne and is now a Production Manager. | |
 Linda Mirabilio
Linda is a Video Journalist/Producer. Before realising her dream of becoming a storyteller, she gained experience in a myriad of activities in the community and youth sector, events and media. Her film Horsley Park Massacres, about the traditional raising and slaughtering of meat as part of a self-sustaining culture, was selected for the Leichhardt 2007 Italian Short Film Festival. | | 
Melissa MacDonald
Having only finished her HSC 18 months ago, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone so eager to embrace knowledge. “I am having such an awesome time working for SkillsOne. I have met some amazing people and been to some great shoots. I am gaining a lot of experience and loving every day of it,” she says. There’s not much spare time in our lives, but somehow Melissa manages to freelance for Channel Ten too! | |
Want to find out about the team at The Institute for Trade Skills Excellence? 
