Keeping an eye on the future

Formal training gives our industry many of the tools it needs to stay relevant in an ever changing business environment. However, formal training is not the only form of education and learning opportunity that you can benefit from. The industry provides many other ways of keeping abreast of changes, for example:

Trade shows such as drupa which will attract an audience of tens of thousands this year in Germany, all going there with the purpose to see what is new and how it might enhance what a business has to offer;

 

• Industry forums such as our PrintNZ Forum on Friday 13 May where speakers across a range of topics will impart their knowledge;
• Focused workshops on specific topics such as health and safety, employment relations and many others
• Relevant magazine subscriptions that provide information on industry developments and best practice
• On-line forums that discuss niche sectors

 

In the latter part of 2015, the Board undertook a review of PrintNZ which included a narrative survey with PrintNZ members and non-members to assess relevance, service provision and value to members.

The comments from the survey, along with feedback from the Management Advisory Group have been used to reinforce the key strengths of what we offer and identify opportunities for PrintNZ to serve the industry better.

The Board also identified opportunities to broaden both the offering and the reach as we recognise that print is only a part of what our members now offer to their customers. To do this, we have to make sure we keep pace with change so that we remain relevant.

During 2016, we will start to implement these changes with a long term goal of ensuring that we have a strong, healthy association working for a strong, healthy industry.

In order to ensure that we can do our job properly, we have to know that our staff members have the right knowledge and skills and review these in line with the changes happening in the business.

Likewise, it is important for the businesses in our industry to review the skills of their staff in order to adapt to the changing requirements of their markets and maximise efficiencies in their operations. New frontiers bring new challenges and being equipped to manage them well.

The need to learn will never change and it comes in many shapes and forms. The learning most often associated with the printing industry is our trade based workers via an apprenticeship but we are able to offer so much more than that these days.

There are opportunities to train across a broad range of skills in the business, including business administration, sales, health and safety, lean manufacturing, core manufacturing, supervisory, and management. It takes more than just a skilled printer to produce award winning printed work – it takes a team of people, all contributing to make it work effectively.

In March, we celebrate the people that have completed training qualifications during 2015 at two Training Graduation events – Auckland on March 9 and in Christchurch on March 17.

We introduced these events in 2015 to recognise the hard work of all industry training graduates who completed a qualification at any level during the previous 12 months. For employers, this presents a fantastic opportunity to show their support of their trainees and to promote on-going training in the workplace. For the graduates, it provides a chance to show off what they have achieved.

The graduations also showcase the 10 Apprentice of the Year semi-finalists, and recognise the efforts of workplace mentors and trainers, companies that advocate training and Diploma of Print Management student of the year finalists.

So please stop and think about where your business is going. Consider the people in your business and how they can make your business smarter – give them access to opportunities to learn.

The only thing worse than training someone who then leaves your business, is not training them and having them stay.