Print industry bodies call for Skills Summit

09 April 2009

Business

The BPIF, Unite and Proskills have called on skills minister Lord Young of Norwood Green to back an industry Skills Summit to highlight the importance of training.

A meeting, which was held on 2 April, was attended by Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke, Unite’s SSC co-ordinator Bernard Rutter, BPIF chief executive Michael Johnson and Proskills SSC chief executive Terry Watts. The Skills Summit itself is expected to be held later this year.

Lord Young said he is keen to address the training problems faced by the industry. Issues including Train to Gain funding, redeploying redundant apprentices and getting companies to sign the Skills Pledge were on the agenda.

The print organisations involved are urging printers to undergo training now so that the industry emerges stronger from the recession.

Proskills' Watts told PrintWeek: "We've got a strong lobbying team together and we are working on the same page to raise the profile of the industry. We want printers to know that the framework is there, the funding is available and getting qualification is more flexible than ever.

"At the Skills Summit we will be asking print companies to make a public commitment to up-skilling their staff. We are expecting some big industry figures to be in attendance. I am pleased that the Minister is willing and able to both support the Skills Summit, but also do what he can to make the governments budgets work harder for printers."

Unite's Burke said: "Increasing print industry training is something that we've been campaigning on for a long time. This important meeting was initially put on the backburner because of the economic crisis, but we have joined forces to ensure that it happens.

"Unite is also pressing the Government to help companies facing short term difficulties by making Train To Gain funding available to companies who face short-time working, in order that staff can up-skill on days when they are not in production - this is a manufacturing wide issue that we will continue to press the Government on."

BPIF's Johnson added: "Companies need to continue to invest in developing the skills of their employees if they are to weather to downturn successfully and be properly equipped to prosper when the upturn comes. We shall be encouraging major industry employers to take part in this important event and help drive the industry's skills agenda going forward."

Proskills has also announced it will launch its Sector Skills Academy in the House of Commons on 25 June. The project, which was given the go-ahead last month has been well received by the industry.