Lord Teverson kicked off proceedings by welcoming those invited and – on the week a large number of new MPs have been sworn in at the adjacent House of Commons – he quipped: “I can guarantee you if you walked down into the House of Commons, you’d probably be sworn in and you’d find yourself a member of parliament because there are so many new faces.”
Teverson then hailed the industry’s strengths. “[What] I like about the print industry is that you are dispersed across the country, you are not concentrated in one area, and you have big dominance of SMEs as well as large companies. So you are exactly the sector and the organisations that we need to do well.
“This is a long-term industry; you print ballot papers, packaging, banknotes, stationery and right the way across. You’re an essential industry.”
Unite national officer Louisa Bull was next to speak and reminded attendees that, last year, she had said there needed to be some difficult conversations and recognition from employers around workers’ pay and terms and conditions, in light of the cost-of-living crisis.
“I don't think that message has changed much; the stresses on business and on workers remain a real challenge. But I do feel that we now have a chance to get that under control.
“According to Printweek, not everyone in this sector is as enthusiastic about the result of last week’s general election as I am, but hopefully everyone would agree that a change was needed.
“The country is in trouble on many fronts. But I believe this local government, under the leadership of Keir Starmer, is ready to listen. It will work with the trade unions, and it will work with business, and it has an industrial strategy for manufacturing that we have been missing so much under the Tories.
“We need to ensure our voice is a collective one, that our joint agenda across the printing and packaging industries is clear, and that we all work together in making sure it is heard by government.
“In the last year, we have had more closures and consolidation in the sector. But print remains strong and our contribution to the UK GDP is significant. The talent pool across the workforce – your employees, my members – is vast. We bring innovation and we push the boundaries on technology as we get to grips with AI and further automation.”
But she added that, with technology investment also comes a need to invest in training to upskill workers, and not letting them go.
“Too often we see workers discarded rather than retrained, and that will not be allowed where we as a union can have an influence.”
BPIF chief executive Charles Jarrold used his speech to highlight the fed’s five-point plan for the next government.
“After all the dramas of the last few years we do clearly have political leadership that is serious about taking on challenges that we face as a country and realising opportunities, and we in the print and packaging business can see those opportunities so clearly ahead of us.
“It's important that we all really engage in realising these opportunities and addressing those challenges. And our manifesto for print set out how in our sector we can play a vibrant part, together with our partners, and make print even more successful and dynamic in a dynamic UK.”
He picked up on three key areas of opportunity: investment in skills and training, productivity and technology investment; and the environment and sustainability.
Jarrold also urged delegates to speak to the BPIF about its apprenticeship and training schemes, and to engage with their local MP, particularly with so many new MPs now in place.
“We spend a lot of time helping organisations in our sector host those visits, we make it as easy as possible. So please come and talk to us, whether you're an MP or whether you're running a business, and we will be absolutely delighted to facilitate those visits, as they're always inspiring and everyone takes so much away from them, it's really critical.”
During the event, the Kathy Woodward Award for Learning was presented by Simon Biltcliffe, founder and chairman of Webmart, to Ronan McKechnie from CPI William Clowes.
Emma Reynolds from Harkwell Labels and Amin Muhammad of Graphic Packaging were also both highly commended.
Collecting a cheque from Webmart for £1,000, McKechnie said he was “very excited” to receive the award.
“I started in print when I’d just turned 17. I did a full apprenticeship with the City & Guilds in the web room and I've just progressed into a step up role at William Clowes in Beccles, and it's covering departmental managers who are on holiday or needed elsewhere.
“I want to use this award to fund some leadership and management training so I can build the correct relationships with the correct people to see me out through the rest of my career and hopefully climb the ladder.”
