Where is our future talent coming from?

Technology is changing the printing industry. Once considered part of the manufacturing sector, the printing and graphic communications industry is now much more a part of the service industry. And, for no one is this truer than for people working in the graphic arts and prepress areas. Working with new technology is changing the nature of printing workplaces.

The adoption of new technologies is radically changing the printing and graphic communications industry and its workforce. Growing use of the Internet has intensified industry competition. Business practices are evolving. Customers are becoming more involved in the printing process; sending pre-packaged PDFs ready for print has become the norm.

The result for the industry is a shortage of skilled workers with the ability to work with these changing technologies. The Skills and Technology Roadmap report released by CPISC in November found that the industry needs new workers that are able to operate complex new print machinery and also those who can understand and leverage the benefits spurred by the use of information technologies. This need for workers with new and diverse skills is also compounded by the fact that those already in the industry are aging. The CPISC Labour Market Information report found that 49% of the industry is aged 46 and above, making the retention and replacement of older workers another issue. The combined impact of an aging workforce and the introduction of new technologies means there is a greater need for well-trained printing and graphic communications professionals.

However, access to industry training is not without its challenges. A 2007 report by CPISC on industry education and training programs found the following:

Although 41% of new employees have no formal training, most companies find it difficult to release employees for training. Industry suppliers offer considerable training opportunities, but little is offered as distance or technology-assisted learning. More than 90% of in-house training is employee-to-employee training.

Prepress training, including the graphic arts, is perhaps one area where the industry is better served by training. Training programs and courses are provided across the country in a range of formats, from degree programs to online short courses. However, the lack of training available in other areas, such as press operation or finishing and bindery, can lead many employers to feel that even trained graduates are not fully prepared for jobs in the industry.

To help, CPISC has been working with industry employers, employees and education institutions to develop national skill standards. These standards reflect both the impact of technology on skills and the way the industry is now organized.
A comprehensive list of basic and core skills have been developed for everyone working in the printing and graphic communications industry, with specific standards and occupational profiles also developed for people working in press operations. For those interested or already working in prepress, specific skill standards are in the process of being validated by the industry before being officially released at the CPISC Forum in June this year.

Like all of the national skill standards that are being developed by the printing and graphic communications industry, the prepress standards have benefits for employers, employees, educators and students.

Agreed standards are essential in ensuring the industry has access to a more educated, adaptable and highly-skilled workforce. For prepress – including the graphic arts – the standards effectively provide an agreed checklist of skills that an employee working in the prepress area should know and be able to do on the job. For employers, this means they can better assess the skills of their current and future employees and more easily identify training needs. The ultimate result for employers is better trained and more adaptable workers who can make the most of changing print technologies.

For employees, standards allow them to assess their current skill level and identify opportunities for training. Employees who advance their skills are likely to have enhanced long-term employment prospects, especially if employers of the future demand that the established national standards be met.

Education and training providers can also benefit from the national skill standards – and many already are. Education and training providers across the country are using the press standards to update staff training programs and institutional courses, with prepress training programs also expected to improve with the release of the standards in June.

Matching program and course content to the skill standards means that technical training providers will be able to produce job-ready graduates who will be sought after by industry employers. This is because graduates will have the skills industry deems necessary for the success of new workers.

The national skill standards are also important because they recognize the growing need for printing and graphic communications employees to understand and be familiar with the entire print process, from sales, customer service and estimating through to prepress, graphic design, printing as well as binding and finishing.

While the specific press, prepress and finishing and bindery skill standards focus on the skills needed to work in each area, the basic and core skill standards cover all employees in the industry and are designed to ensure that every employee has a thorough understanding of the entire printing and graphic communications industry and its main processes and operations.
For future students considering training or re-training in prepress and the graphic arts, the standards will also be useful in assessing available training programs and monitoring their career progress into the future. Students will be able to identify those training courses and options that provide them with the specific skills they need to meet the national standards.

CPISC is also working with the industry and education and training providers to identify options for improving both the quality and delivery of training programs into the future. We know that printing companies will increasingly require adaptable, multi-skilled workers who can operate computerized equipment, analyze problems, make decisions, work cooperatively, interact with customers and enjoy a clear understanding of the entire printing production process. And, while many education institutions offer good, industry-related courses, the industry also needs to begin exploring a wider range of training programs and delivery models to ensure courses equip emerging industry workers with the skills they require.

The training itself should be flexible, geared to the needs of different workers and developed through collaboration between current training providers, such as suppliers and education institutions. Training programs of the future also need to reflect the industry’s strong reliance on employee-to-employee knowledge transfer – with greater support for on-the-job training, apprenticeships and mentoring – as well as helping employers and employees access training in formal and non-formal environments.

CPISC is also working with industry professionals to develop career pathway tools. These tools will be designed to help both employers and employees assess to what degree they meet the national skill standards and then develop a career training pathway. This is likely to increase the demand for industry-relevant training programs and the need for ongoing collaboration.

By continuing to work together, the printing and graphic communications industry can ensure it remains one of the most economically important and technologically advanced industrial sectors in Canada.