Education and Training — Skilled Labor: Help Wanted!

WITH 60,000 graphic arts industry employees leaving the workforce each year—and only a fraction of them being replaced—it’s easy to understand why printers are having a tough time finding skilled labor. When the going gets tough, and printers need an infusion of new workers, chances are, they’ll simply snag them from their competitors.

Which still leaves a gaping hole in the industry’s workforce.

In a business world based on supply and demand, the graphic communications segment continues to turn statistics on their head. In this unique manufacturing field, supply is low, demand is high, yet skilled labor is hard to find.

So, what’s the problem?

Unfortunately, there isn’t just one problem. There are many difficulties cited by industry experts, associations, educators and recruiters. Some of these troubling observations are brutally honest truths, while others reflect misconceptions about the industry. Still, all deserve mention, since each is a part of the problem, whether fact or fiction.

• Young people do not think printing is sexy, exciting, technologically savvy or high paying.

• Parents think printing is hard, dirty, factory work that is apt to be outsourced.

• Parents of college students don’t want their child’s degree to be wasted on a blue-collar career in manufacturing.

• Most colleges do not offer degrees in printing or graphic communications. Only 230 offer graphic communications programs, and less than 1,000 college graduates obtain degrees in printing each year.

• High school graphic arts programs are dying a slow death, with very few schools offering courses and few students enrolled in the courses that are offered.

• High school counselors want students to aim for college. Those not college-bound are not given the same level of guidance, and the guidance/material provided on printing industry careers is often outdated and unappealing.

• Many printing companies are located in small towns, where there are few opportunities for advancement, and the labor force is captive to the local pay scale.

• Process automation, enabled by ongoing technological advances in equipment and workflows, is eliminating jobs.

• With the number of printing establishments consolidating, laying off staff and/or going out of business, the graphic arts is not a promising industry in which to look for work, let alone a career.

• The printing industry’s recruitment, education and training efforts are as fragmented as the industry itself.

Enough already! Obviously, there are some serious problems. It’s time for some answers or, at least, some possible courses of action.

There are many industry leaders who are passionate about resolving the skilled labor shortage. Several of them have provided input and insight for this article. They include: Larry Kroll from the Heidelberg Print Academy, Harvey Levenson from Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department, Ted Ringman of the Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation (PGSF), Dean Flowers from the Harry V. Quadracci Printing & Graphics Center at Waukasha County Technical College (WCTC), Brian Regan of Semper International (employment agency), Tim Fischer of NAPL and Greg D’Amico from Kean University’s graphic communications program.

Because of the critical importance of this subject and the significant amount of info provided, this article will run in two parts. Here is Part One of their expert commentary.

Let’s Get Started

—Larry Kroll, vice president, Print Media Academy, Heidelberg USA

Our industry faces many challenges when it comes to reaching and recruiting a generation of young workers who understand little about printing and haven’t been compelled to learn. The good news is that we can change the perception of the printing industry in the minds of the next generation and build a talented graphic arts workforce for tomorrow.

It’s not an easy undertaking and will require active involvement from all sectors of the printing industry. Graphic arts associations and organizations, printers, manufacturers, educators and even local communities must all come together in order to create change. Efforts already are underway in the charge to address the industry talent crisis, including some important events happening this year:

The Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation will again host its Education Summit at Graph Expo this year. The 2007 summit provided a platform for discussing the talent crisis and resulted in the development of real, action-oriented plans to address them. You can learn more by visiting www.gain.net.

In June, SkillsUSA (formerly Vocational Industrial Clubs of America) will hold its national leadership and skills conference in Kansas City. National and regional competitions through SkillsUSA and similar organizations are important for reaching talented high school and college students. Learn how to get involved at www.skillsusa.org.

This July, in San Francisco, Heidelberg will host its annual Print Media Academy Global Summit. The focus this year will be on how the printing industry can redirect its image and training for a broad base of industry workers.

In addition to involvement in these important industry events, there are many other ways that each of us in the industry can address the talent crisis. Potential graphic arts students must experience advanced printing equipment first-hand to understand how printing can be an exciting, fast-paced field. How do we make that happen when it is too costly for many schools to own up-to-date equipment?

Printers of all sizes can offer a day for local students and educators to “shadow” the operations of a shop, and many already do. Take a step further and offer to meet with local high school or college counselors to share the job opportunities that await students who are entering technical or community colleges, four-year colleges, or who are entering the workforce directly.

Coming together as an industry to talk about and address the situation is critical. This is what it will take to change the perception of our industry in the minds of the next generation workforce.

Working for Change

—Ted Ringman, vice president of development, PGSF

Printing today is not your father’s print shop. As the industry changes, we, as an industry, need to get the message out about what an exciting industry it is and why people would want to become a part of it.

We must take a grassroots approach to illicit change—not only in people’s understanding of what printing is, but in their misunderstandings about it, as well. We started our effort at last year’s PGSF Education Summit. More than 150 people attended. The question (about the shortage of skilled labor) was put like this: How do you eat an elephant? The answer: One bite at a time.

Some of the ideas that came out for improving printing’s image and attracting more young, skilled professionals include: reaching Generation Y in places they congregate online, including social networking sites; using association lobbyists to change the U.S. Department of Labor’s outdated descriptions and classifications of the industry’s segments; convincing more companies about the value of contributing scholarship money; working with local economic development leaders to spend money earmarked for technology to aid print eduction; and a campaign similar to “Got Milk?” that boosts awareness of the power of print and makes it exciting.

An important part of that effort is in our pilot programs for printing education. This is a grassroots effort of lobbying and involvement on a local level to try to get printing programs into area colleges. There are a few terrific success stories.

At Harper College in Palatine, IL, a new program in graphic arts was introduced into the technology department. The program, which is now in its second year, had 100-plus students enrolled in its first year, and 270 students are enrolled now.

Local printing industry leaders approached the school and pitched the idea of starting a pilot program. It’s been a great success, with the program having a 100 percent graduation rate.

The Harper College program was modeled after Dean Flowers’ printing program at WCTC in Wisconsin. His program has a 100 percent graduation rate, as well.

Once students graduate from these programs, they are capable of making very good salaries. College grads with four-year printing degrees are earning starting salaries of between $60,000 and $70,000. Two-year grads are making between $30,000 and $40,000 to start. So, as you can see, the pay is good for college-educated printing employees. It’s something our industry should be shouting out loud about.

Another important part of this grassroots effort is the need to create “feeder schools” in local communities. Feeder schools are high schools that have been targeted by the industry—where printers have visited guidance counselors, participated in career days, invited students to open houses at their printing facilities...schools that are recruiting students into a career in printing. We need to do all that we can as an industry to support this effort, to involve more schools and to create more feeder programs.

A new pilot program that is working extremely well is called “Ambassadors for Print.” Based in Virginia, it’s designed to recruit young people into the industry. Katie Gekker, who heads the program, talks to students, educators, parents, counselors, administrators, superintendents, school boards and economic development leaders. She is also developing a document about printing, which contains updated information about the industry and its educational and training programs.

There is material in the document about how to develop pilot programs for the graphic arts. When the document is completed, Katie will take it to legislators in hopes that they can take the updated info and get more funding for pilot programs, printing education, training and recruitment efforts.

Just think of the potential if we could stimulate a handful of printers and suppliers to go into schools and talk to counselors, to get involved in career days and to get the message out about printing. Just imagine if we had more of these Ambassadors for Print; let’s say 10 ambassadors in 10 states this year, then 20 ambassadors in 20 states next year. That’s the kind of progress that can be made!

It’s Time to Get Involved

—Tim Fischer, VP of finance and member services, NAPL

Once it was all about equipment. Investing in our people, beyond what was necessary to operate equipment, was an afterthought. Now we need new skills across our organizations. And, we aren’t just competing with other printers for people with those skills. We have to promote our industry much more effectively, especially to young people. We have to remember that no industry—no matter how technologically advanced—prospers without an ample, qualified workforce.

I believe we are an industry that is divided in terms of the type of education and training opportunities we stress to our young people and to our employees. We’ve always cultivated the technical skills we needed. Now we have to prepare our young people and employees for the growing demands of these jobs by cultivating the critical thinking, problem solving, planning, delegation, time management and communication skills required by an industry that is getting more competitive and more complex.

In addition, we have to develop young business leaders to take over the management positions vacated by the aging population in our industry. This is at a critical stage. Many organizations today continue to depend on the entrepreneurial spirit of their leaders to run and guide their businesses, but have invested little to develop the next generation leader.

Our skilled positions are also changing. NAPL State of the Industry research has long emphasized that digital services are redefining our clients, our markets and our competition. They are also redefining our labor force. Printers are now hiring for positions they never hired before: database administrators, digital content managers, fulfillment specialists, Web programmers, IT specialists, mailing specialists, digital workflow specialists, systems network administrators, and more.

Many printers are also reporting that their sales reps and CSRs require new skills to perform effectively. These include basic computer, communication and organizational skills, as well as “a broad understanding of our equipment and what it can do for our customers.” But they also include skills needed to advance from a transactional sale (an order taker) to a consultative sale (a partner in the client’s success).

Whether we are recruiting a recent tech school grad to join our production team or an established professional from another industry to join our executive team, we can make a compelling case with facts like these:

• Production personnel in our core lithographic offset segment earn an average of $17.01 per hour, higher than average hourly earnings of $16.68 for all manufacturing, $15.96 for service industries and $12.43 for retailers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• We rank in the top 10 of all manufacturers in employment and are one of the few industries to provide quality, high-paying jobs in all 50 states, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

• Our influence is growing as we embrace new ways to help clients communicate. And communication is a growth industry.

Reach Out to Educators

—Dr. Gregory D’Amico, associate professor, graphic communications, Dept. of Design, Kean University

How can a graphic communications company attract the best talent available when hiring new employees? The answer lies in establishing a network of strong relationships with educators who are active in career advisement and job placement. The establishment of such relationships goes well beyond mailings or phone calls.

I have been teaching and advising at the university level for more than 20 years. While I have helped place graduates in 100+ companies, it seems that my very best students are placed at the same 10 firms each year. These companies continually attract the best entry-level candidates (with Bachelor’s degrees), as well as experienced professionals (with Master’s degrees in graphic communications management).

This is because these businesses have reached out to build a strong, mutually beneficial relationship with myself and my colleagues in graphic communications education. These relationships have grown by printers offering plant tours, internship programs, curriculum guidance, seminars and generous donations.

Plant visits give students an opportunity to see firsthand what a printer is accomplishing and to experience its organizational climate. It also gives company leaders the chance to describe their firm’s mission and express their passion about their work.

Developing a strong internship program is another way to establish a beneficial relationship with an educational program. An internship position provides students an opportunity to apply what they learn in the classroom on the job. And it helps printers find potential employees who consistently perform and fit well into the organizational culture.

Being involved with an educational program’s curriculum committee is also beneficial. This allows you to share with the faculty precisely what knowledge and experience you feel the students should gain from their academic studies.

A natural extension to working on a curriculum committee is for an industry executive to consider offering seminars at his/her company or to apply for a position as an adjunct instructor at a local school. Teaching is an effective way to develop strong relationships with the brightest and most enthusiastic students that an educational program has to offer.

Every recent business forecast predicts there will be a shortage of qualified management and production personnel in our industry. It will become more and more difficult to attract qualified individuals in the years to come. The best course of action is to invest now in the development of young talent for the future. PI