9 March 2015

BPIF Apprentices launch campaign to highlight to schools the increased appeal of apprenticeships to their school leavers

On Friday the 20 of February the BPIF gathered together 11 print apprentices from member companies at their London offices. The task was to work with a designer to produce a piece of collateral in aid of National Apprenticeship Week to promote apprenticeships in the print industry to schools. With the current average age in the print industry at 48 the apprentices set to work designing a piece of collateral that they felt would attract young school leavers into print.

The day was filled with debate and discussion, with many reasons emerging as to why each had chosen an apprenticeship. Daniel Pelly, Process Apprentice from De La Rue, described how he enjoys “getting paid to learn and meeting people he never would have done before”. Liam Walton, Lithographic Printer, Galloways, said an apprenticeship was the best option for him as it is “a great environment to learn in”, while Will Lee, Apprentice Printer, BCQ Group chose an apprenticeship to “develop new skills while being in a full time working environment”. Jonathan Taylor, Process Apprentice, De La Rue summed up that for him it was the “most viable option with the biggest payout at the end of it” and Sophie Chuter, PMS Printers, told how “I stumbled across a print apprenticeship, but now I love it”.

The apprentices decided to produce a 4 page brochure with a theme of ‘the biggest industry you’ve never thought of..’, to highlight how print is used by everyone, everyday and also to engage the reader’s curiosity and make them turn the page. Inside they included information on why the printing industry offers exciting job opportunities and why apprenticeships are a great route to a career. The apprentices decided on all aspects including paper, style and finishing. This brochure was then kindly printed by BCQ Group and mailed to 500 schools across the UK.

BPIF Programme Director, Ursula Daly, explained “it is so important that school leavers are given information about apprenticeships, it is the schools duty to allow students to make informed decisions and to do this they need to be aware of all of their options”. Chris Knowles, Managing Director BCQ Group, added a businesses point of view, saying “there is a huge value to having apprentices at BCQ, they bring new fresh ideas into an established industry”.

In addition to mailing the brochure to schools, the whole process was filmed and this will be emailed to MPs during National Apprenticeship Week to encourage their continued support of apprenticeships. To watch the video visit: www.britishprint.com/NAW2015

The BPIF are happy to make artwork available to any printer who would like to print copies of this brochure and distribute to local schools. Please contact Amy Hutchinson on the details below for further information.

Many Thanks go to; BCQ Group, Bishop Grosseteste University, De La Rue, Galloways, Hobbs, PMS Printers and The Sherwood Press for supporting this initiative.