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print apprenticeships
Shaping talent in the
print industry
Industry leaders Ricoh, Canon, Kyocera,
Xerox, Konica Minolta, Sharp and
CompTIA identified a gap in the future
of their workforces and approached
Pearson in Practice to find a solution.
Designed by the industry, for the
industry, this new Apprenticeship will
help to develop a young, enthusiastic,
qualified and motivated workforce
that will be able to deliver the service
customers need today and in the
future.
As the technology in the print industry
continues to evolve at a frightening pace,
so does the service level expected from
customers. No longer are they looking
simply for printers and supplies, but expect
an integrated, high quality, efficient and
affordable business solution.
On and off the job training
Companies from across England will benefit
from the programme, which includes a
mix of on and off the job training. The
programme runs for at least 12 months, with
employers able to shape and develop the
apprentice into the employee they need. With
Government funding to cover the training,
and grants available to small businesses
taking on apprentices, it is a sure-fire way to
develop better skills and a stronger team.
Pearson in Practice CEO Fiona McBride
said: “Print is yet another industry that has
realised that Apprenticeships can make a
real difference to its future. We’ve worked
with the key sector players to offer an
Apprenticeship that is shaped to deliver what
they need and are looking forward to making
a big impact with the future talent of the
print industry.”
Launched on 17 September, at the
Pearson in Practice London based offices,
guest speaker Merri Applegate, Director of
HR was invited to present Konica Minolta’s
approach to the Apprenticeship Programme.
“We are really excited to be partnering
with Pearson in Practice to develop the
future talent of our business. With a shift
in the landscape of the market from print
to fully integrated IT business solutions,
the apprentice scheme gives us a great
opportunity to shape the skill set and the
future standard of our service workforce.”
Apprentices hired
Kyocera Document Solutions’ first two
apprentices have already started their
training with the print solutions company.
Nineteen year olds Jordan Church and
Thomas Parsley started their inductions last
week.
Kyocera Document Solutions drove the
formation of the Apprenticeships Programme
as Training Manager Ian Allan explains: “As
an ex-apprentice myself I knew the value
of Apprenticeships and recognised that our
industry was crying out for a structured
qualification which would give young
people an excellent grounding. I spoke to
CompTIA and we worked with Pearson in
Practice and other print solutions vendors
to create a genuine industry standard. Every
manufacturer has had the opportunity to
input what the Apprentices should have to
cover and we now have an Apprenticeship,
designed by the industry for the industry,
which will deliver a young, enthusiastic and
qualified workforce.”
Flexible career options
Human Resources Manager Sandra Rogers
said: “We’re finding that the hardest thing
is to recruit the right people with the right
skill set combined with a genuine desire to
develop and grow with our company. Over
the last three years we’ve grown 77 per
cent organically and identifying young talent
is vital for our continued growth. Jordan and
Thomas have the option to become Field
Service Engineers, to work on our Technical
Help Desk or in our Workshops – we are
flexible enough to accommodate the career
path they want to follow.”
Church said: “Kyocera is clearly
committed to the Apprenticeship scheme
and this offers us the possibility of
branching out into a number of different
fields rather than just the field service
option. Everyone we have met has been
extremely welcoming, friendly and helpful.
It is a great opportunity – we will get out
as much as we put in. I feel I’ve definitely
made the right decision as I have the chance
to break into the industry – something that
is difficult to do without experience.”
The Apprenticeships Programme runs
for at least 12 months and involves on the
job training as well as classroom learning
at a Pearson in Practice Training Centre.
The Apprentices will study for the following
qualifications: CompTIA PDI+, CompTIA
A+ and Advanced Apprenticeship for IT,
Software, Web and Telecoms Professionals.
Commenting on the opportunity Parsley
said: “I’m really looking forward to getting
some hands on experience. We’ve already
watched a technician preparing a machine
for installation and we’re going to get the
opportunity to try it for ourselves tomorrow.
Learning the theory is great but you learn so
much quicker by having a go. We can’t wait
to have a go at actually fixing something
– it will be great to be a service engineer –
self-sufficient and able to get things fixed.”
www.pearsoninpractice.com,
www.konicaminolta.co.uk,
www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.co.uk
Print is yet
another
industry that
has realised that
Apprenticeships
can make a real
difference to
their future.
Pearson in Practice, partnering with some of the biggest names in
print, has launched a new Advanced Apprenticeship in Print and
Document Solutions.