Page 58 - Print21 magazine Mar-Apr 2023

| BUSINESS | STAFFING
Labour woes
The results of the Industry Skills Report reveal that print is struggling with labour supply and skills needs across all sectors of the industry, with survey results coming from commercial print, signage, wide format, labels, packaging and distribution.
women into the workforce and working with our existing workforce on strengthening their professional growth within our industry.”
In addition to Print Finisher (which covers Guillotine Operators and Mailhouse Operators) and Printing Machinist roles (including Flexographic, Gravure, Label, Letterpress, Lithographic Reel
and Sheet Fed Machinists and Printers), other occupations such as Graphic Pre-press Trades Workers, Digital Printer and Printers Assistant/Offsider ar among top professions the print and paper industry is currently trying to fill.
Advertised job vacancies via online platforms such as Seek, CareerOne and LinkedIn reflect longer response times of more than four weeks, and from advertisements the applications are minimal.
This survey result fits in with many discussions the PVCA
has been having with industry stakeholders, who are advising they rely on personal networks to find candidates. Looking to the future for the industry, the majority of printers are viewing a six to ten year range
as a significant time period for their labour requirement needs. This
will be a result of factors such as workforce retirements as well
as business growth and diversification goals
This result ties in with the data the PVCA has already developed that evidences the industry has an ageing workforce, with the majority of shop floor employees within the industry aged between 45 and 54 years.
Across the next ten years there will likely be a growing number of
The print industry responded rapidly when PVCA put out a survey requesting data on job vacancies, as part of its
ultimately successful campaign to get print apprentices back on the Australian Apprentices Priority List. The results, though, were stark:
all sectors of the print industry are facing labour and skills shortages.
The report highlights the majority of the industry have various job vacancies open, with 76 per cent
of respondents stating they have vacancies within their businesses, and of those, 27 per cent have been open for eleven weeks, and 40 per cent have had open vacancies for longer than 15 weeks.
The majority of those open positions, some 58 per cent, are for printing machinist and finishing roles, which require strong technical competency.
Most print businesses reported receiving between one to five applicants for advertised roles. Concerningly, the majority of respondents, in fact almost all
at 94 per cent, voiced discontent with the skills and experience levels of the majority of applicants, thereby causing more delay in filling the roles.
PVCA has just had a major win for the industry with skills training, managing to get all nine print
apprenticeship courses back on the Apprentices Priority List (AAPL), with the results of this survey confirming it was essential for the future well-being of print.
Kellie Northwood, CEO at PVCA said, “Whilst pleased to see our apprentices have returned to the AAPL, this research found that our members, and broader industry, are seeing the biggest threat to their businesses being across the limited skilled labour supply.
“We need to build an
attraction, retention
and upskilling program for
our industry to revitalise
our workforce availability
with priority.”
Kellie Northwood, PVCA
“We need to build an attraction, retention and upskilling program
for our industry to revitalise our workforce availability with priority. This is not a one-off uick fix, rathe we are looking at a holistic approach from school-leavers looking for career options, to older workers looking to upskill, engagement of new employment channels, attracting
58 MARCH/APRIL 2023