On the back of a record $11m worth of government funding it has obtained for the print industry the PIAA is looking for 350 printers around the country to sign up to a new business development programme.

 

The programme, part of the PIAA’s Future Print initiative, is aiming to help printers with a turnover of less than $1.5m transition from traditional print providers into multi-channel service businesses. Start date is provisionally slated for May this year.

 

Bill Healey, CEO of the PIAA says, “The print industry and the wider world is in transition. This new programme will help print business owners to engage with the new world, and will equip them with the tools to exploit the opportunities that are emerging.”

 

The 350 businesses that the PIAA is aiming to sign up will be given an initial thorough business assessment, and then split into three groups; those that are deemed to be viable businesses that want to move forward but are lacking the internal resource to do so; those that are well functioning businesses capable of adapting to the new economy themselves; and those that are non-viable or have owners who are looking to exit print. 

 

The printers who are in the first category are those that will receive the business assistance, although the actual format  of that development programme has yet to be worked out.

 

The PIAA, together with the AMWU, has been spectacularly successful in obtaining government money for the future development of print over the past few months, drawing down the whopping $11m to be used for various training programmes.

 

Healey says, “The PIAA is in constant talks with the Government to put the case for print, which is a major source of employment and wealth for the nation, in fact when combined with allied sectors it accounts for some 180,000 jobs spread all around the country. Whether we are a manufacturing or service industry is up for debate, but what is indisputable is that print is an innovative, dynamic and progressive industry. We are not looking for handouts from the government, but we are looking to convince it that print is an industry that will deliver rich rewards for the country from any support it receives.”

 

The PIAA is looking to engage with lawmakers at every level, and has just produced a 32pp booklet called Priorities in Print, which it will give to every MP and Senator. It aims to highlight the current dynamics in a range of fields as they affect print, including skills, legislation and regulation, energy, finance. The PIAA will then seek to meet every backbencher to present their case.

 

The new initiative is part of the wider Future Print programme which includes a mentoring project, an apprenticeship project and a productivity improvement programme.

 

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