Letters, feedback, get it off your chest
Dear Editor,
Re: Printing Industries launches Skills Shortages Project
Surely the real problem is how to entice our youth into the industry.
The average age in our pre-press department is mid-40s. Who is going to
replace us? Young people today want almost immediate wealth (which is
certainly not being offered by the printing industry!).
As far as I know, the apprenticeship for pre-press is still 4 years, which
is ridiculous. Imagine offering a school leaver 4 years of very low wages to
be followed by a pretty average income once qualified. This is what the
printing industry is up against.
Firstly, the training period should be 2 years. Then there needs to be some
sort of national education whereby our young people can once again feel
proud to be a qualified tradesperson - in whatever field they choose. Take
the focus away from short term income and place it on stability.
Surely I am not the only person concerned about this?
Regards,
Keith Scrivens
Scott Print
Dear Editor,
Re: Printing Industries launches Skills Shortages Project
Whilst the PIAA are claiming a victory in solving the Skills Shortage by setting up an infrastructure for immigration, there is a sad legacy to this scenario. I must stress that I am not against the importation of people with the skills this country needs, we have a history marked with enormous success in this area.
However, we have a system in place that has been gradually evolving over the past twenty years. All industry sectors now have 'Training Packages' that contain competency standards that are embedded into a range of qualifications (courses). In fact the Printing and Graphic Arts Training Package has 34 qualifications covering such areas as Desktop Publishing, Instant Print, Graphic Design Production, Print Finishing and many more. These courses range from Certificate II level (Traineeship), Certificate III (Trade) Certificate IV (Post Trade) to Diplomas. All of the Certificate courses attract government assistance with training, eg $4,000 for a Cert III Trade.
I am frequently approached by industry personnel regarding the shortage of 'Binders', Estimators', Digital Printers' and many more, and this is the message that PIAA is hearing too. The solution, however, may be in these businesses already, the dedicated semi-skilled worker that is already packing, stacking, cutting, despatching etc.
TAFE NSW at Ultimo have just completed a workplace activity where we identified 10 adult bindery people from 4 Sydney companies and asked them to participate in a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) project. The participants had all worked in the bindery for well over two years, some for fifteen. TAFE gathered evidence of competencies from each person and no production time was lost. At the end of the project each person averaged around 15 competencies, and this equated to around 75% of the trade course in Print Finishing. The next step will be to enrol them in an adult apprenticeship in Print Finishing with 75% credit. This means they will probably only spend around 3 weeks at TAFE over the next 18 months and end up as a qualified Print Finisher Tradesperson. Over the 18 months TAFE will visit and assist in the workplace so that competencies can be met.
Of course there is more detail to this scenario and the national system that underpins it, but there seems to be a terrible disconnect somewhere in the systems when we have to import people to do work that our own citizens are desperately waiting to be asked to do.
In my opinion we should be lobbying government to assist existing workers to join the ranks of the skilled rather than banishing them to a life without a career or the prospect of one.
Regards
Allan Wetherell
Program Manager,Printing & Graphic Arts
TAFE NSW
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