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Occupations / Graphic Pre-Press Trades Workers

Graphic Pre-press Trades Workers

Graphic Pre-Press Trades Workers manipulate, set and compose text and graphics into a format suitable for printing and other visual media.

ManufacturingANZSCO 3922
1,309People employed
+7% ▲Growth to 2035
58%Work full time
45Median age
Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 3922.More about our sources: How we check our facts

What they do

The main tasks of this occupation, from the national occupation standard.

operating graphic cameras and other photographic equipment to reproduce camera-ready copy onto films, plates and digital output devicesusing computer applications to generate images, text, layouts and impositions for print and other visual media displaysoperating plate making equipment to reproduce images from film to printing plates, digital output devices and pressesoperating computer screen-based equipment for scanning, colour separation, colour correction, masking, creative design, combining, imposing, retouching, and other processes used to transfer copy to film and produce film for plate, digital output and cylinder productionscarrying out digital and chemical proofing from digital systems, and negative and positive filmsevaluating printed proofs, checking and correcting them for quality
Source: JSA occupation profileTask list from the Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profile for ANZSCO 3922 (ANZSCO task statements).More about our sources: How we check our facts

The outlook

Room for 100 more people in graphic pre-press trades workers by 2035 ▲

The field shrank 20.4% in the year to February 2026, losing about 300 workers. Most of the jobs are in NSW and VIC, with SA third.

Source: JSA · ABS, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 3922.More about our sources: How we check our facts
1.2k2025
1.2k2030 PROJ.
1.3k2035 PROJ.

Getting in

Most graphic pre-press trades workers came through a certificate or diploma. 58% did.

A university degree is rare here: 23% hold one. The trade qualification is the standard way in. These are the nationally recognised courses mapped to this occupation, with the number of registered training providers that offer each one.

Source: JSA · training.gov.auEducation split: JSA (Jobs and Skills Australia) occupation profile, using ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Census data, ANZSCO 3922. Qualification mapping and provider counts: training.gov.au, the national register of vocational education, October 2026. Listed providers are current registered training providers (private providers and TAFE institutes).More about our sources: How we check our facts

Nationally recognised training · most offered first

ICP31420Certificate III

Certificate III in Prepress Graphic Design Production

Printing and Graphic Arts.

See 5 providers

Providers are shown in A-Z order on each course page. A listing is not a recommendation.

Jobs open right now

1,309 Australians do this work. See who is hiring this month.

Search job ads by state

Each link opens seek.com.au in a new tab, showing ads posted in the last month. SEEK is a job site; we link there because that is where most Australian jobs are advertised. We have no commercial relationship with SEEK.

Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26State chart shows people employed, not current job ads. ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 3922.More about our sources: How we check our facts

People employed by state, 2025-26

NSW1k
VIC0.5k
SA0.2k
QLD0.1k
ACT0.1k
TAS0.1k
WA0.1k
NT0.1k