The first apprentice employed under the Future Print program is sprinting through its competency-based criteria and expects to be done in 2.5 years instead of the usual four.

David Smith, a finishing apprentice at Sunshine Coast firm Queensland Trade Print, has completed his first training block and with ongoing competency-based assessments expects to complete his first year of training, which he began earlier this year, by September.

“The Future Print training is perfect for me. It means I can learn here on the job in Warana, which is more convenient for me and also means we can fully staff both shifts,” he says.

“With the knowledge and experience I have already gained over my time here, I should be able to complete my qualifications in about two and a half years, which is fantastic.”

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Production leader Garth Austin says Smith’s experience from working at the company for four years means his existing knowledge base is already of enormous value to the business, and once he has completed his apprenticeship it will mean there is another qualified print finisher available for production shifts.

“Training is vital and with the advantages offered by this new system, we already have another employee earmarked to start Future Print training as soon as we are able to make it happen,” he says.

“It can be difficult to find good tradespeople, particularly if you are not in one of the major cities, so training makes good sense for us.

“Plus, it gives you the advantage of retaining good staff who already know your business, your clients and your operating environment.

“We have always believed in training and the Future Print model has removed all the inconvenience from the equation, working out much better for David and for us.”

Meanwhile, Tafe Queensland Brisbane is using Future Print to tackle a skills shortage in the industry by attracting new apprentices with a comprehensive fast-tracked programme that it, like Smith, expects them to complete in 2.5 years instead of four.

The training provider was the first to take on Future Print and now has 11 apprentices signed up, adding to the pool of more than 150 trainees now committed to up-skill or get their start in print around the country.

[Related: More training news]

The Tafe’s print and signage team leader Kerry Emerson says apprentices can come straight from school and undertake the programme as part of fee free training for Year 12 school leavers, or already be employed – the short time span making it more attractive for people already working in print.

“Both new apprentices and existing employees are taking the opportunity to up-skill across a range of disciplines from pre-press to print and finishing, and across a variety of industry sectors from digital, web and newspapers to commercial offset, labels and packaging, flexo and screen printing,” he says.

“This skills acquisition will build upon the apprentice’s thinking skills so they can better problem solve in the workplace.”

The government predicts that without intervention by 2015 there will be a shortage of 240,000 tradespeople in Australia, not least in the printing industry.

Print machinists and screen printers are currently on the government’s National Skills Needs List, identified as experiencing an ongoing shortage of qualified workers around the country.

Tafe Queensland says Future Print is still looking for businesses to help lead the project, and workers who are interested in updating their knowledge to keep on top of the changing technologies that influence their jobs.

Brisbane’s Inprint, Tennyson Group and contract newspaper printer Horton Media are among the Queensland printers supporting Future Print apprentices.

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