Employers
The printing industry is changing.
To support printing and graphic communications employers, CPISC has already delivered and is continuing to work on a range of resources to support strategic decision making as well as HR management tools.
Through the completion of its national Skill Standards and three watershed reports—the Skills and Technology Roadmap, Charting Our Course; the HR Study, An Industry Redefined; and the Training Needs Assessment, Bridging the Gaps—CPISC has built a solid foundation and understanding of what the industry needs.
Moving forward, the Council is building on those findings and evolving from a research-based organization into one that also offers services, tools, programs and resources to maximize the career potential of every employee and support the industry’s prosperity.
Skills and Technology Roadmap: Charting Our Course
Released in November 2008, this report outlines the technologies having the greatest impact on the printing and graphic communications industry. Technology roadmaps, like this one, help guide industry employers in making business decisions. The CPISC report also focused on skills, providing employers with insight into their human resource needs for the future. It concludes with a series of seven recommendations for industry that will help companies prosper and thrive into the future. Click here to view the report.
HR Study: An Industry Redefined
The industry overview and human resource profile provides a summary of the printing and graphic communications industry and its workforce as well as the technology and human resource trends and challenges. Based on a broader based definition of the industry that recognizes the growing overlap in print offerings and the diversity of print-related services, the report paints a more accurate picture of the demographic challenges facing the industry.
Supplementary to the study, CPISC also developed and released a series of four papers that include straightforward advice, examples of best practices and tips and links for dealing with identified key challenges facing the industry including succession planning, high performance workplaces, recruitment and adapting to technological changes.
To read the HR Study Issues Papers, use the links below:
- Talent Pipeline For the Future: Succession Management
- High Performance Workplaces: Focusing on People to Foster Innovation and Boost Profits
- Filling the Gap: Recruitment and Retention Challenges
- Ready for Change: Confronting the People Impact of Technology Trends
To read the full report, click here.
Training Needs Assessment: Bridging the Gaps
Using CPISC’s national Skill Standards, the report examines the gaps between actual and required skills of printing employees, including: prepress operators, output specialists, colour specialists, lithographic web offset press operators, lithographic sheet-fed offset press operators, flexographic press operators, digital press operators, bindery operators and finishing operators. It also compares skill shortfalls against available training from employers and educators, and then presents a training-delivery model for the industry to guide employees on the path to life-long learning. Click here to view the report.
National Skill Standards
Over the past five years, the development of National Skills Standards and profiles for the key occupations within the printing and graphic communications industry in Canada has been a priority for the Council – they serve as the foundation for all of our activities. Standards detail the knowledge and skills an individual needs to succeed in our industry.
Through industry lead working groups, basic, core and operating skills have been identified for occupations in the pre press, press, finishing and bindery, production support and management areas.
To access the skill 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.
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.
CPISC will be implementing the certification program over the next six months. For more information, click here.
HR Toolkit
CPISC’s HR Toolkit addresses the HR issues that affect small and medium sized printing and graphic communications shops in Canada. It is essentially a virtual HR department, loaded with information and highly-adaptable templates. Created specifically for the printing and graphic communications industry, the Toolkit covers five key HR areas. To access the Toolkit, click here.
