The National Skills Academy for Materials, Production & Supply (NSAMPS) will provide a gateway for print and paper companies to access quality-assured, industry-relevant skills training programmes.

Its launch marks the culmination of more than 18 months of groundwork by the sectors' employers, trade unions and Proskills, which last night pledged an additional £100,000 in funding to what is the 11th skills academy to have been set up as part of the government's growing NSA network.

Lord Young, minister at the newly created Department for Business, Innovation and Skills told companies at the launch that building on their employees' skills was "the best way to help survive the downturn".

"National Skills Academies are vital to help employers transform the skills system to meet their needs [and] they can provide immediate aid to help businesses through the downturn," he said.

Proskills chief executive Terry Watts added "training is no longer an option but a necessity and one that could make the difference between survival and failure" as he published the results of the organisation's labour market intelligence survey.

According to the survey, 68% of larger companies are experiencing a skills gap and 82% of those confirmed that the skills shortage is affecting business performance.

Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke said: "I think we all agree that we cannot afford to have yet another skills shortage. If we do, it will make the recession longer, harder and tougher for us all."

He added that the NSA could provide a "new mechanism to deliver the skills all of the sectors need for the future", but stressed that it would only work if the industries were prepared to use it.

Meanwhile, Proskills announced the appointment of Graeme Finch as the new general manager for the National Skills Academy.

For more see next week's PrintWeek.