Their remit within the newly launched BPIF Training initiative is to help firms use the £2m of funding available for training, primarily via apprenticeships.

"Apprenticeship is the route to funding but we don't want to be hampered by how people have delivered apprenticeships in the past," said Woodward. "I want to use the grants that we've got to do something."

Her first goal for the BPIF's renewed training offering is to get "great reference sites, where we can measure the results" with 50 apprenticeships covering customer service, administration and despatch as well as the more traditional production roles.

"We will tailor what we offer," said BPIF chief executive Michael Johnson. "The core is apprenticeships but there will be other training on top."

This will include funding for in-house training.

"My take on the industry is that there is so much potential sitting idle," said Woodward. "We could mount an industry change cycle. We have the funding and the talent to deliver it."

Woodward has a heritage in print as former group operations director of Astron, and prior to that was at BPC. She is currently chief executive of Partnership Education, a vocational training provider that operates in other industries.

Smith was also formerly at Astron where her roles included customer services director and managing director of the Tactica division.

During their tenancy there, the firm won Human Resources magazine's Overall Company of the Year and Excellence in Change Management categories.