Business | Q&A


At the start of 2023 Fespa UK embarked on a series of Next Generation Networking Days for the print and sign industries’ 18-30-year-olds, and subsequently formed a youth committee under the guidance of Jay Burfi eld. The intention was to get a better handle on the younger generation’s career concerns, hopes and ideas and, longer term, to have that shape the sector’s ‘message to market’ to attract more young people. We asked fi ve committee members how it’s going.


As a Next Generation committee member I assume you felt there was a need for a body to better represent the industry’s youth. Where did you feel the biggest ‘gaps’ were in understanding what drives the younger generation into/having a career in print?


THE YOUTH OF TODAY Chad Bekker


StyloGraphics


Alex Pollard RMC Digital Print


I think that not been many younger people have learned about the print industry - they probably don’t really realise that there is one, and how vast it is, with so many different pathways to take in terms of a career.


Speaking from personal experience I believe one of the biggest gaps is just having a basic knowledge and understanding of the industry itself. During my time at school we were never informed of the industry or taught anything about what the industry actually contains, such as textiles or design. In fact, the fi rst time I ever came across the term ‘digital printer’ was when I came across my apprenticeship role itself.


What do you think your contribution has been to date in helping improve that situation?


Attending Next Gen meetings and events to help bring more younger people into the industry, and speaking to all sorts of other people from the industry, giving them an understanding of what I do as a printer.


I feel our contribution as a committee to the industry has been huge. We are defi nitely becoming more popular as shown by the recent Young Generation events. I remember being at one of the fi rst events, down at Amari Adapt in Nottingham, when there were only fi ve or six of us. Looking at more recent events - the day at Zund for example - we are now tripling the amount of attendees, which shows that what we are trying to achieve is defi nitely working. In 2024 it would be great to see us getting those kinds of numbers at all our events to continue pushing the younger generation.


Networking with your peers has been a key focus of the Next Generation programme. What have been your own key takeaways from the events held so far?


My key takeaways from the networking events are learning about the different aspects of print, and the amount of young people wanting to get involved in the industry.


There have been many key points taken from all the events I have attended so far but the main one for me is defi nitely just the importance of connections, not only just on social media but also making that connection in a real life situation such as meetings and celebrations . At some of the events we have had to make a connection for various different scenarios within our daily roles, such as sales, marketing and production. These training situations have helped me massively - bringing them back and applying them all to my own role to benefi t not only me but everyone I deal with on a day-to-day basis.


What message would you give employers - and the print industry in general - about how to entice more young people into print/ signage careers?


I think advertising about the print industry more will bring in younger people if it’s aimed more directly at them and they see how many different areas they can get involved in.


I would say to just get the message out there about just how exciting a career in print can actually be. Have more open days, be more enthusiastic on LinkedIn and showcase your work off a bit more. I think for people looking from outside the industry they don’t fully understand what actually goes into a full scale print job - right from the surveying stage to the very end at installation - and just how interesting what we do is .


14 | February/March 2024


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