Future Print chief Joan Grace has this morning suddenly resigned from her position and will depart in just two weeks, on November 20. Grace has given no reason for quitting, and the PIAA itself is not saying why she has gone, although sources close to Grace believe she found running the Future Print programme quite demanding. Future Print is deemed to be a significant success, with more than 120 print business owners currently going through its business assessment programme, and more than 200 apprentices signed up to printers.

Joan Grace

Grace was the CEO of Print NZ, and moved across the Tasman to Australia in 2012 to follow her husband, who had taken up a position in Melbourne. She was recruited by the PIAA to head up a series of training and innovation initiatives. She was also co-opted to lead the Victorian and Tasmanian State operations. In a statement sent to the media, Grace, who is the PIAA general manager for innovation, training and employment, said little apart from that she has ‘no immediate plans,’ other than ‘a long summer break to recharge and refocus.’ She says, “I am looking forward to having the first really substantial break in my working life and to the new opportunities which I am sure will come my way in the future, whether in print or in a completely new sphere.” Grace has been a lynchpin of the PIAA’s Future Print apprenticeship programme and business transformation project in the past two years; announcing a stream of milestones hit for each project. She says both ventures are now ‘well established’ and ‘ahead of target,’ making her decision to leave an easier one. The statement includes tributes to PIAA and AMWU staff, but little detail about what prompted her departure. She says, “The initiatives we have established together will, I hope, provide important resources for the future development and success of businesses in our dynamic sector. “I would also like to pay tribute to the businesses that are part of these projects. Many businesses in the Apprenticeship Project had not been involved in apprenticeships for some time but have taken the opportunity presented with both hands.” Grace says she hopes the programmes will continue to be developed under new management with the direction of the national body. Her parting words: “An industry cannot be transformed from the ‘top down’ – real change is made by the individuals, in their own businesses, making decisions, day after day, week after week, year after year. “The decision makers who are taking a proactive approach to transforming their businesses to meet the market are the ones who ultimately will change the focus and future of our industry, and it has been a privilege to help resource them in this important transition phase.”

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