Former PrintNZ chief executive Joan Grace has resigned suddenly from her position as general manager for innovation, training and employment with the Printing Industries Association of Australia.
She had run the successful Future Print programme, which saw more than 200 apprentices signed up to printers. After leaving Print NZ to cross the Tasman, following her husband, who had taken up a position in Melbourne, Grace took up a position with the PIAA, heading head up a series of training and innovation initiatives.
Joan Grace
She released a statement saying, “I am looking forward to having the first really substantial break in my working life and to the new opportunities which I am sure will come my way in the future, whether in print or in a completely new sphere.”
As a lynchpin of the PIAA’s Future Print apprenticeship programme and business transformation project, her resignation comes as shock to those in the Aussie industry and she gave no details in her statement, in which she offers tributes to PIAA and AMWU staff, but gives no detail about what prompted her departure.
She says, “The initiatives we have established together will, I hope, provide important resources for the future development and success of businesses in our dynamic sector. “I would also like to pay tribute to the businesses that are part of these projects. Many businesses in the Apprenticeship Project had not been involved in apprenticeships for some time but have taken the opportunity presented with both hands.
Grace says she hopes the programmes will continue to be developed under new management with the direction of the national body. Her parting words: “An industry cannot be transformed from the ‘top down’ – real change is made by the individuals, in their own businesses, making decisions, day after day, week after week, year after year. The decision makers who are taking a proactive approach to transforming their businesses to meet the market are the ones who ultimately will change the focus and future of our industry, and it has been a privilege to help resource them in this important transition phase.”
