KATHY WOODWARD HAS STARTED HER TWO YEAR engagement as chief executive of the BPIF with a promise to make the industry more appealing to young talent.
In an interview to be published in the June issue of Print Business she says the industry has an image problem despite the presence of world leading businesses like Newsprinters at Broxbourne and printers in the retail sector operating with virtual reality software. “We have to talk the image of the industry up. The banks have a perception of the industry which isn’t true and so we need to get out there and we need to articulate the power of print.”
THERE WILL BE AN EMPHASIS ON RECRUITING new talent to the industry and on establishing a formal training qualification for those in the business including distance learning and recognised qualifications stemming from that. Printers will be encouraged to set up internal academies to train staff.
And she wants to appeal to the most talented of university graduates. “We are sitting in one of the most attractive, exciting industries that there is out there. It crosses manufacturing, marketing, retail, supply. If we can’t put together the most exciting programme and attract the best undergraduates, we will have missed out. There is a big window of opportunity out there. If I can’t pull in 100 graduates to a programme like this I will be disappointed.”
SHE SUCCEEDS MICHAEL JOHNSON WHO held the chief executive position for two five year terms during which the Vision in Print project was launched along with a new relationship with print unions under Partnership at Work. These emphasised production management and process. The focus now is going to be on training and development of people within the industry, building on the success that BPIF Training has had in the two years under the control of woodward and colleague Kay Smith.
