Skill shortages are still having an impact on many businesses says Alicia Lambert
PrintNZ Training has a wide range of training options available, from full apprenticeship programmes to smaller programmes that cater to a specific business need – talk to PrintNZ Training to discuss the options.2008 has been a busy year for PrintNZ Training with a number of projects successfully completed and more on the agenda before the years end. These projects involve the support of many people in the industry who recognise the importance of training.
This month PrintNZ Training is involved in the WorldSkills bi-annual sheetfed printing regional competition. WorldSkills provides a fantastic opportunity for eligible apprentices (completed Level 3 or full apprenticeship in 2008) to pit their skills against their peers in the industry. The competitors complete a test job under supervision in their workplaces in August before finalists are selected for the national competition in September. The winner of the nationals, who meets criteria for the international competition, will be eligible to travel to Canada in 2009 to compete at the international WorldSkills trades competition.
In June PrintNZ Training launched its revamped Diploma in Management - Print. This qualification, originally launched in 2001, provides people working in production, sales, administration and management with an advanced qualification that has been developed with the print industry in mind. Following industry feedback and technology changes, the Diploma has undergone several key changes. One of these is a new three steps to completion process, which means an individual can sign onto the Level 4 National Certificate, Level 5 National Certificate and then the Level 5 National Diploma. This means an individual can choose to complete just one qualification or the full Diploma depending on their needs.
Another change to the Diploma is the introduction of the fully supported option, which is where the student and employer sign a training agreement with PrintNZ Training. A PrintNZ Training Liaison Officer will then visit the student in the workplace several times a year to monitor their progress, provide additional support and the employer will receive progress reports allowing them to provide encouragement in the workplace.
In addition several new papers will be available to Diploma students in 2009. These are:
• Environmental Management
• Procurement Management
• Project Planning
A Diploma advertising leaflet has been inserted into this issue of NZ Printer. If you would like further information contact PrintNZ Training.
In another development PrintNZ Training now has two Colour Management training modules available to industry. The modules were written for Digital Processes for Print apprentices but they contain information relevant to anyone working in the print industry. The modules are available at Level 4 and Level 5. Level 4 covers colour gamut and colour spaces, CMYK, ICC profiles, perception of colour, measuring colour and several other topics.
The Level 5 module looks more in depth at creating and applying colour profiles, testing and adjusting colour settings, creating monitor and printer profiles and other topics.
In May PrintNZ Training held its annual Apprentice Awards event in Auckland. This event was attended by over 80 print industry members, including the award winners, their families, employers and supporters. This event highlights the high calibre of apprentices and trainees coming through the industry, potentially our future business and industry leaders. Apprentice of the Year, Richard Hughes of APN Print- Wanganui, impressed the selection panel with his positive attitude, dedication to learning and commitment to his print team.
PrintNZ Training is currently working on updating all of its apprentice study notes. This process is well underway, with new resources now printed for those completing sheetfed printing qualifications. Work will continue on producing the new resources for each sector of training.
As of mid-July 2008 447 apprentices were completing their training, compared to 444 in 2007. There are 107 trainees currently signed on to training programmes compared to 93 in 2007. Diploma students numbered 81 this time last year, compared with 75 at the time of writing.
On the agenda for the remainder of 2008 are several key projects.
Following a number of changes within the sheet-fed printing sector, PrintNZ Training is currently undertaking a review of its training programmes for this area. This entails using feedback from industry to look at the relevance of current training programmes and how these can be reviewed to keep up with changing technology and processes.
Following the launch of the revamped Diploma, PrintNZ Training will now aim to embed the qualification in the industry. This includes promoting the benefits of the qualification, in particular the option for receiving full support while studying.
Another large project progressing behind the scenes is the development of the Communications & Media ITO. Further work is taking place at present in order to gain recognition of the ITO by Government, a crucial step in the process of forming the new ITO. Also underway is development of the workplace training option for journalism. To contact PrintNZ Training about any training queries or issues raised in this article phone 0800 654 455 or email
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