500 training courses offered under industry initiative Future Print are being snapped up as the program moves into its second phase.
“Nearly 400 people attended Future Print workshops across the country and 260 businesses are now involved in the Future Print Business Transformation Project. The program is now entering its second stage as the broad range of training commences,” said Printing Industries CEO Bill Healey. “I believe all printing and communication businesses can benefit from the business evaluation, skills assessment and training opportunities offered under the program. There are still opportunities for around 80 companies to become involved but we expect these to be filled pretty quickly, so now is the time to move.”
Future Print, a joint initiative of the Printing Industries Association of Australia and the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, is designed to develop the skills of businesses in the print and related communications, creative and information sectors to help them respond to economic, demographic and technological change. Following completion of the evaluation phase, businesses who signed up early will soon commence training, taking advantage of the first of 500 federally-funded training places offered under the scheme.
“The first part of the project was very much about evaluating your business via the Future Print Business Snapshots and free benchmarking service, to identify areas which required attention and pinpoint where training may be of assistance,” said Healey. “With a substantial number of businesses now involved, we have been able to identify key gaps and appoint a national panel of RTOs to partner with us. We are delighted that the first companies have now been allocated their places and that trainees will commence working towards their new qualifications in the next few weeks.”
Some of the key areas of training will include Sales & Marketing, Strategic Leadership, Lean Manufacturing and Digital Design. There will be quarterly intakes of students as businesses complete the evaluation phase and confirm their needs. This training complements the vocational training program that runs alongside it under the Future Print Apprenticeship Project.
As new students begin to flow into the system, participating businesses continue to benefit from ongoing workshops and one-on-one consultations with Future Print Advisors helping to address a range of business issues. Regular local networking groups are now operating in several regions, providing peer support and advice to business owners. Online webinars will be introduced soon to provide additional support to rural and regional areas.
“It’s very pleasing to see the Business Transformation Project now rolling into the training stage and to know that so many businesses are already benefiting,” said Healey.