We are excited by the news that on the 6th May the Printing Industry secured full approval for the Level 2 Print Operative Standard from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFATE). Thanks to the hard work of the BPIF and a consortium of organisations including The Printing Charity, this standard hopes to entice young people into the industry.
Value of apprenticeships
Apprenticeships are a fantastic way to improve skills, gain qualifications and progress careers. As part of our mission to nurture young talent in the industry, we actively support apprenticeships and are proud to have been involved with this recent development.
Level 2 is Assistant level and plays an important role in our industry as it is often the first stage of a career in print. This new Level 2 print standard has three options; pre-press operative, press operative and post-press operative. With this approval and the existing Level 3 Print Technician standard, there now exists a solid training programme in place for young people hoping for a long and successful career.
James Buffoni, MD at Ryedale Group Ltd and consortium chair, said “Approval of the Level 2 Standard brings recognition, structure and opportunity to the engine-room of the industry. This signifies that Print Operatives have key skills to offer the UK economy and ensures that print apprenticeships in the UK rival the best in the world.”
We hope that having our official standards will encourage more people to take on an apprenticeship and become leaders of tomorrow. We understand the process wasn’t easy so a big well done to everyone involved.