Page 78 - Print21 March-April 2020

People in Print
the OVERflow
Youth programme sees
years 10 and 11 the opportunity to learn about the industry through visits to Ultimo TAFE and Asga members who, Punch said, have been keen to open their doors to give students a hands-on experience and share their passion for the industry. Many students also attended PrintEx19 in Sydney in August as part of the programme.
“For many of the young people we connect with, their contact with us is the first
time they’ve ever heard about sign, display and print – let alone considered a career in the sector,” Watters said.
Issues around careers and training are, of course, complex, and recruitment into training
is just one outcome, Watters explains, acknowledging that the Sydney pilot is just the start of what is likely to be a long process.
“Regardless of whether
they are creative, IT-focused, engineering or construction- minded, or simply interested
in a varied and challenging career, students who have the opportunity to see what sign, display, engraving, wide-format and other print businesses do every day, and to put that in the context of the many and varied industries which rely on those services, are invariably amazed and impressed.
“And, importantly, the hands-on nature of this programme demonstrates that there really are jobs in the industry which are both
SAcott Print achieves industry colour first
apprentice numbers rise
Higher apprentice numbers and a growing awareness of industry career
opportunities are just some of the positive outcomes of a pioneering programme led by Visual Connections and the Australian Sign & Graphics Association (Asga), with the Australian Schools Industry Partnership (Aussip) in 2019.
With the initiative set
to expand this year, the programme organisers say the future for improving awareness of industry career benefits among youngsters is looking bright.
Sign & Display apprenticeships in New South Wales were up
21.28 per cent in 2019, with ten additional apprentices signing up for TAFE training. This lift
in numbers is just one outcome of a partnership between Visual Connections, Asga and the education liaison team at Aussip.
Peter Harper, CEO of industry suppliers association Visual Connections, said the partnership – which falls under Visual Connections’ Academy initiatives – has now been piloted for a full year in NSW, with a focus on the sign and display industry, with positive results.
“It is no secret that attracting young people, training them, and retaining them, is a
major challenge across the
Growing: female apprenticeships doubled in 2019
entire sector,” Harper said today. “Visual Connections is committed to supporting the future sustainability of the industry, and one of our key areas of focus is attracting young people to the industry and ensuring they have access to the training they need to build their careers.”
For Michael Punch, general manager of Asga, it is also about revealing the wonders and opportunities inherent in sign and graphics careers.
“So many students, parents and careers advisors are simply unaware of the industry and its variety,” he said. “They walk daily through shopping malls, festooned with all forms of signage, yet while plumbers, carpenters and electricians are trades they are familiar with
in their homes and workplaces, it’s a different story with sign makers and installers.”
In 2019, AusSIP’s Tina
Mavris and John Watters ran
the initiative in a number of
NSW schools to give students in available and desirable.” 21
ward-winning WA “The original certification was outfit Scott Print is one year ago,” says Crowther, claiming an industry “but of course, any standard is first, achieving only as good as the upkeep of it
ISO colour matching across via auditing, and I am delighted
its offset and digital print technologies.
David Crowther, the Colour Doctor of Colour Graphic Services, says leading WA printer Scott Print has achieved an Australian/NZ-industry first
by attaining Mellow Colour Proficient Printer certified for ISO 12647-2:2013 (including ISO 12647-8:2012) for all of its colour production, offset, and digital.
to say that Scott Print has passed its second audit with flying colours, no pun intended.
“It is a significant achievement since both digital and offset / CTP output devices need to be maintained to ISO 12647 colour standard day-in, day-out. Not only this but Scott Print uses both digital liquid toner (HP Indigo) and dry toner (Fuji Xerox).” 21
First: (l-r) John Scott, Adriano Piccaluga, Danilo Bernini, and David Crowther from Colour Graphic Services
78 Print21 MARCH/APRIL 2020