The decision to cease trading was made at a board meeting of trustees and directors in the middle of May, after which point chief executive Jonathan Ledger went about finding new homes for all of Proskills’ key industry services and functions. It officially stopped trading on 1 June.
Ledger said: “Even though we were in the process of trying to make the business and the charity viable, we’ve invested an awful lot of money in programmes like PrintIT!, but support year-on-year for these programmes from print and paper has dwindled dramatically to the point where we have used up our reserves.
“Lack of financial support, particularly from other charities in the industry, really has meant that we just can’t sustain running PrintIT! in the way that we had been.”
Proskills had initially commissioned a strategic review in March of this year to analyse how it could obtain more funding.
Originally set up as a Sector Skills Council (SSC) in 2003, Proskills became a self-financing organisation in 2011, after its government funding was withdrawn.
Ledger said: “Most of the industry thought Proskills had a never-ending pot of money and we could never lose that. Print itself has been going through some hard times. It talks about wanting to bring in young people and get them involved but it doesn’t seem to really be doing enough about it. It is just a sign of the times really."
In a statement, Proskills said it had secured over £260m of skills funding for a range of industries over its lifetime. It also said it has supported the development of more than 600,500 learners via more than 450 qualifications.
Proskills’ nine permanent staff were all given a redundancy package and have now secured new jobs and all of its services have been moved to new homes.
The furniture and wood arm of PrintIT! has been moved to the British Woodworking Federation (BWF). Its awarding body has moved to another sector skills council, along with its qualifications work.
The BPIF will continue to develop the new trailblazer apprenticeships and the apprenticeship certification services will sit with the Federation of Skills Councils (FSC) until it is moved more permanently to another SSC.
The PrintIT! scheme has been taken on by Earthisland Publishing, who will act as custodians. Ledger said he initially approached the Worshipful Company of Stationers and The Printing Charity but both turned it down.
Ledger added: "The big message here is not to be sad for us, it has lived five years beyond its expected life and we’ve done very well to survive and all of the staff are going on to new jobs.”
