our apprentices a wealth of experience and demonstrated their importance in the workplace and the community.” Lance Hill, managing director of EDWPS, also spoke highly of these schemes, saying if you invest in apprentices, then the return can be significant. He says he has witnessed this many times over his 32-year-plus career in print, including himself having started as an apprentice at 16 straight from school. “There is a skills gap in print and an ageing workforce where not enough new talent is entering the industry at the bottom, which is a problem for the sector’s future resilience and continuity,” Hill says. “Printers should consider an apprentice for two primary reasons. Firstly, it is a great way of bringing in an extra pair of hands who can not only bring incredibly useful suggestions to the company in areas like social media but who can also be moulded to the company’s culture from the get-go. If they have the right mindset, which is the priority during recruitment, you have the potential to develop an individual who can be part of the fabric of the business going forward. “The second reason why is that print companies would be giving an opportunity to a young person to learn and develop themselves, in an industry that is not always the obvious choice for a school or college leaver. If they apply themselves, they can follow the pathway as many have done over the years, to reach the top and add real value to the business and industry they work in.” As to how the IPIA can support, the organisation can help initiate or find government-backed schemes that can be crafted into something more print specific, which could also be funded by sponsors. “A bit like the Kickstart scheme; it needs promotion and some volunteer members to get on board, almost as a pilot,” the IPIA says, adding: “In past programmes, the IPIA has helped most by making the administrative side as simple as possible in setting things up, shielding members from cumbersome bureaucracy, identifying pitfalls, and making application processes as smooth as possible. Hill additionally makes the point that organisations like the IPIA are in the unique position of being able to create consortiums like it did with Kickstarter, which enabled smaller printers to take advantage of government initiatives that require a minimum commitment. “It can also help simplify the admin, which has been quite grim in previous schemes, especially when dealing with the red tape from candidates on universal credit, for example,” Hill says, adding: “Apprenticeships can minimise risk and if print companies are nervous about costs, then government support can help alleviate such concerns. It’s a cost-effective solution to having an extra pair of hands on board. “We share the IPIA’s views that schemes like this have to be a good thing for the industry’s longevity, they incentivise employers to onboard a younger workforce and get young people off universal credit and create opportunities and work experience that help them build a CV and a career path and continuity for print.” Further development For further proof of the success of apprenticeships in print, one only needs to look to Print Scotland, which each year celebrates apprentices across the country for their work. During the most recent annual awards, honours were handed out for the Overall Apprentice of the Year, Post Press Apprentice of the Year, and Press Apprentice of the Year. The four winners were Christopher Dinnes, Craig Knight, Hazel Linden, and Kyle Clark, all of whom are planning to continue and progress their roles in the print industry. Print Scotland provides training for Modern Apprentices through the Scottish Training Scheme with help from the Scottish Government. The awards act as an opportunity to highlight the work of the Scottish print community along with showcasing the potential leaders of the future. But the work does not stop here for Print Scotland, with the organisation constantly lobbying the country’s government for more funding for apprenticeship schemes. In December, campaign groups noted that the budget for training providers delivering apprenticeship programmes had been frozen, with this being taken as a real terms cut given the increase in inflation rates. Such has been the impact of this freeze that campaigners, which also include the Scottish Training Federation, say many training providers will have to make redundancies or close their businesses, without intervention by the government. This would then lead to many young people not completing apprenticeships on schedule, which could in turn harm Scotland’s economic recovery as opportunities for young people are reduced. In response, parliament called on the government to come forward with funding to ensure that a further 2,000 apprenticeships are funded in the next six months to meet what it understands is “significant employer demand”. With plenty of backing from industry organisations, and the hope of additional funding from governments, there is plenty of support for apprenticeship schemes moving forward and print business across the UK will continue to feel the benefits of such initiatives in the long term. 55 www.printmonthly..co.uk Issue 341 - March / April 2023 It’s widely accepted that our industry has an ageing workforce and a growing skills gap FOCUS ON / APPRENTICESHIPS ◄ Daryl DalrympleOwen went through the Kickstart scheme at Spectrum and now works there full-time
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