TAFE NSW manager of Printing and Graphics Programs, Allan Wetherell, has used PANPA and a meeting in Sydney to promote the fact that training institutions are well situated to provide “competency”-based training and skills assessment for workers who may have acquired skills through on-the-job experience, but lack formal qualifications.
Under the aegis of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), the ICP05 Printing and Graphic Arts Training Package contains 360 competency standards and 34 qualifications for the print industry, with eight streams of competence. The AQF provides a comprehensive, nationally-consistent framework for all qualifications in higher education.
According to Wetherell, the system provides funding from the federal government for employers who wish to see employees undergo an apprenticeship or accelerated apprenticeship, or to upgrade their present skills. Not only does this deliver benefits for the business, but it also aids in alleviating the skills shortage the industry is currently struggling through.
“We’ve failed miserably over the years to get young people into the industry,” Wetherell told a breakfast meeting this morning. “This system provides recognition of prior learning. A lot of companies are sitting on a goldmine with their people.”
Wetherell pointed to the fact that in the early 1990s there were approximately 250 first-year print apprentices at TAFE NSW, whereas there are now only about 60. Likewise, the number of pre-press apprenticeships has gone from 160 in the 1990s to just 15 or 20 this year. Consequently, new ways to find skilled people have become necessary.
“Manufacturers are partly to blame because they now produce machines that are much more productive and don’t require the same labour,” he quipped.
However, Wetherell added that “the industry lacks a far-reaching vision and long-term strategy. The solution needs to come from three groups – industry, the enterprise, and training organisations.”
Accelerated apprenticeships provide opportunities for workers who have some experience and wish to progress to formal qualifications. Wetherell suggested that print training has been turned on its head in the past 15 years to meet industry expectations, and is now flexible and “negotiable” in its ability to meet employers halfway.
“Change your business for the better,” he told the meeting. “Raise the bar for your employees. Just do it.”
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