16 September 2024

A rapidly ageing population and the emergence of the so-called iPad generation is creating a “tsunami” of vision issues and driving strong demand for more TAFE NSW-trained optical dispensers, according to the nation’s most experienced optical dispensing educator.

Steve Daras has been teaching optical dispensing for 46 years – the last 29 years with TAFE NSW – and has co-authored two seminal textbooks on the topic.

He said widespread use of smart phones and tablets among the younger generation was spawning an epidemic of short-sightedness, while the ageing population was also creating more demand for optometrists and optical dispensers.

“The younger generation is spending much more time on screens and this means they aren’t ‘switching off’ as much and letting their eyes relax,” Mr Daras said.

“There’s a short-sightedness tsunami coming to the next generation as a consequence and it’s made optical dispensing a real growth area.”

According to Jobs and Skills Australia, there are about 6200 optical dispensers employed nationally, whose role includes interpreting optical information, advising patients about spectacle adjustments and repairs, and selecting and managing different optical products.

One of many students to benefit from Mr Daras’s experience is Eye Mechanics Optometrist co-owner Andrew Pham, who decided to do his Certificate IV in Optical Dispensing through TAFE Digital given his mother's praise of the course.

A commerce law graduate who has also worked in politics, Mr Pham made an unlikely career pivot when his optometrist sister urged him to join the family business.

“My sister roped me into it when she decided she wanted to run her own practice and I’m so glad I made the decision,” Mr Pham said.

“Optical dispensing is the perfect intersection point between retail and health and it’s a really satisfying career.

“To learn under an industry legend like Steve Daras has been incredible and TAFE NSW has all the equipment to ensure you learn the right way the first time.”

Mr Pham’s mother, Ann, also completed the Certificate IV in Optical Dispensing through TAFE NSW decades earlier.

TAFE NSW is one of only two registered training organisations in Australia that offers the Certificate IV in Optical Dispensing and the only one to offer the important fitting and edging unit.

This unit gives students a thorough understanding of the edging and fitting process, from using the client's prescription order to edge the uncut lenses to precise measurements, through to fitting them correctly into the spectacle frame.

TAFE NSW has two specialist edging and fitting lab facilities, at TAFE NSW Kingswood and TAFE NSW Randwick.

Prospective students can enrol anytime in the Certificate IV in Optical Dispensing and the course is studied virtually through TAFE Digital, with three face-to-face skills workshops during the 18-month course.

The TAFE NSW course has recently been placed on the skills shortage list for traineeships.

Media contact: Dan Johns, TAFE NSW Communications Specialist, 0477 722 428