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talks to... Peter Ashcroft,
It has been almost 200 years since the creation of the Printing Charity but now it is taking a big step in its organisation. It has decided to merge all of its support systems together into one cohesive team – all under the guidance of Peter Ashcroft; the newly appointed director of services. Image Reports asked him about his new role.
You’ve recently been appointed to the role of director of services at the Printing Charity. Could you tell our readers what the introduction of this role means for the charity?
This is the first time that all the Printing Charity’s welfare activities have been brought under one umbrella and combined into one team. Current support includes our free, confidential helpline,
covering more than 32,000 employees and their families in 370 companies nationwide; the financial assistance we offer those facing hardship; and our Almshouses for people retired from a print career. By looking at these holistically, we can work to make sure that the support we provide is offered in ways that align with the evolving needs of our industry, and fit for the future.
You’ve been in the role for a couple of months now. What have you been up to since you started at the beginning of September? It’s been a busy few months getting to grips not just with the vast array of support that the charity can offer those in the sector but also getting to know the sector itself. I’ve been out to events with the IPIA, The Print Show, WrapFest and the UK Graphics Awards, meeting people right across the sector, hearing about their work and listening to what they have to say about the challenges they’re facing. Attention is now focusing on what more our services can do to meet those challenges.
Are you enjoying your new role? What aspects do you find enjoyable? I’m really enjoying my new role; it’s incredibly rewarding to be part of an organisation that has such a positive impact on people’s lives. What I find most enjoyable is seeing the immediate difference our support can make, and hearing first-hand from people we have helped, about the difference that help has made. Whether it’s providing financial support when someone’s in crisis; helping someone access counselling; or simply being there on the other end of the helpline when a caller needs advice or reassurance, these services have a real, tangible effect and it is an honour to be able to play a part in delivering this.
12 | December 2024/January 2025
What has 2025 got in store for yourself, the charity’s welfare activities and for the Printing Charity as a whole? 2027 is the Printing Charity’s 200th anniversary, and we’ve already started to think about what such a milestone could mean for our organisation and for the industry overall – this is going to pick up pace in 2025, for sure. We want to make sure we’re learning from the past and looking to the future to understand how we can continue to meet the need now, and in the future. This means listening to what people in our sector have to tell us about the personal and work-related challenges and opportunities they face, so we are looking at ways to do that. The priorities and concerns of someone at the start of their career will be different to those of people who are in the midst of it, and the priorities and concerns of those approaching retirement will be different still, so it’s not going to be a ‘one size fits all’ approach, although our fundamental commitment to help people in our sector when they need us underpins everything we do. We know that at any time, anyone could face hardship,
so we are determined to be there for people when they do. This means being present in places where people in our industry are present, and so along with the team, I’ll be looking at new routes to reach more people and meet the need that’s out there, using the great relationships the team are building to encourage people to start a conversation with us, and with others in their network, about the ways we can help, continuing to make more people aware of what we have to offer.
In your opinion, what is the state of the print industry currently and is there a demand for the charity’s services? The most recent numbers from the ONS show that there are quarter of a million people currently working in the sectors the charity supports, within some 20,000 businesses. It was encouraging to see the positive news in the BPIF’s recent Q4 2024 Printing Outlook, with the pace of growth of output and orders picking up in Q3, and a similar pace of growth expected into Q4.
This is a good foundation for the industry, but if I’ve
learnt anything from the previous few years, it’s to expect the unexpected, and we also know that despite these green shoots of growth, many businesses and print employees are
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