Employees
So you work in the printing and graphic communications industry?
That probably means you know the difference between pre-press and press, and when its time for finishing and bindery.
The Canadian Printing Industries Sector Council was set up by employee and employer representatives and our work focuses on developing the skills of employees working in printing and graphic communications companies across Canada.
National Skill Standards
Our national Skill Standards have been developed with employees in mind, because they provide you with a checklist of the skills you should have to work in the industry.
The Skill Standards include Basic and Core standards, which cover everything that anyone working in a printing company should know, from the administration officer through to the head press operator.
Job-specific Skill Standards have also been developed for people working in press operations, including specific job profiles for Digital, Lithographic Sheetfed Offset, Lithographic Web Offset and Flexographic Press operators as well as Colour Specialist, Output Specialist, Prepress, Finishing and Bindery, Sales, Estimating, CSR/Production Coordinators, Production Managers and Print Executives.
The profiles and standards provide you, as an employee with a checklist for assessing your own knowledge and skills and to identify what areas you might need extra training to improve them. Keeping your skills current and up-to-date makes you more employable, and assessing and improving your skills can also help you set and achieve your career goals. To view the Standards and Profiles, click here.
Skills at Work
Skills at Work is a suite of five tools to help the industry implement the national Skill Standards in the workplace. Developed with industry stakeholders, the guides and tools included in the suite enable employers and employees to use the Skill Standards on the job to assess skills, identify gaps and ultimately develop an on-the-job training strategy to ensure employees have the skills they need to thrive.
To access the suite of tools as well as the skills assessment checklists and training trackers for all occupations within the printing and graphic communications industry, click here.
Education and training
If you want to find out more about possible education and training opportunities check out the CPISC report on Education and Training Programs and Providers for the Printing and Graphic Communications Industry, which includes a list of training institutions as well as an analysis of the type and scope of training programs currently available.
Certification
Over the past two years, CPISC has utilized a multi-phased approach to determine and develop a national recognition program for the printing and graphic communications sector. Starting with a review of existing certification/recognition programs and continuing on to broad based industry consultation process, CPISC was able to develop a model for a recognition program that reflected the unique needs of our industry. The final step was a comprehensive feasibility analysis which was completed in the fall of 2011.
