Special Report
ATTRACTING THE YOUTH
OVER THE YEARS, SUCCESSIVE
GOVERNMENTS HAVE INTRODUCED VARIOUS SCHEMES AND PLANS TO HELP COMBAT YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT. THE
LABOUR PARTY PLEDGED AT ITS RECENT PARTY CONFERENCE TO ABOLISH LONG-TERM YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT. BUT WHAT ARE COMPANIES AND BODIES ON THE
GROUND DOING TO HELP? IR MANAGING EDITOR, MELANIE ATTLESEY, INVESTIGATES.
Back in September, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the Labour Party’s plan to guarantee young people who have been out of a job or education for 18 months a work placement.
She added that those who do not take up the offer could face being stripped of their benefi ts. The initiative builds on the ‘youth guarantee’, announced last November, which promised every 18 to 21-year-old in England access to an apprenticeship, training, education opportunities or help to fi nd a job. While I was carrying out interviews with print service
providers for the latest Widthwise Survey it surprised me just how many managing directors or CEOs were nearing retirement or had retired since the 2024 survey was carried out. It’s no secret that the print industry as a sector is experiencing a bit of an ageing workforce and skills shortage crisis. But the question remains – just how do we make the industry an interesting and promising career path for anyone under the age of 25?
ATTRACT AND NURTURE The Printing Charity has taken this issue by the horns and has produced a campaign called ‘Five Ideas’ to help print businesses understand what it is young people working in print love about it – and hopefully take forward this knowledge and learn from it. The goal of the campaign being to help businesses consider effective ways to attract, and nurture, the emerging talent in their teams. Liz Ross Martyn, director of marketing and engagement at the charity, explains: “At the charity, we’re here to do what we can to help people in our sector thrive, and part of that is doing what we can to help the sector itself thrive, too.”
The front cover of the Five Ideas booklet 14 | October/November 2025
The charity has for a number of years now ran its Rising Star Awards, which celebrate and reward young talent in the print sector. Data from the Rising Star Award winners since 2021 shows that 79% are still working in the industry – which is an encouraging statistic. So, this has naturally built up a group of youngsters willing to share their real-world experiences of starting and developing careers in the print sector. It’s these experiences that the campaign has been launched off the back of. Liz says that upon speaking with the Rising Stars alumni to gauge their thoughts on working in print, the team would hear statements such as ‘it’s modern-day magic’, and ‘the industry communicates in ways that are irreplaceable’. But this was a complete paradox to when the same group were asked what their thoughts were on the print sector before joining. They often believed that print was ‘stuck in the past’, because they hadn’t yet had the opportunity to experience or learn what the sector is truly like. “Clearly, this is crucial to try and address,” says Liz. Another aspect which sparked the launch of the campaign were the conversations the Printing Charity was having within the industry. “There are lots of discussions about the challenges of enticing young people into
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