Printing Industries has piloted a number of different kinds of courses in recent years in a bid to gauge interest and to find the most suitable courses. What has become apparent is that a far greater value by both employers and employees is placed on courses that provide nationally recognised accreditation and count towards any further studies. This in itself points to a changing attitude in the industry towards training and perhaps signals a changing demographic with larger numbers of younger people seeking careers and wanting career development opportunities.  

Printing Industries has been researching this and working to introduce a broader range of Nationally Recognised Courses and Certifications via the Internet. The objective is to provide relevant study course material that employees can access at their convenience and at their own pace, alone and in supervised online eClasses at predetermined times.  

This provides online students with the ability to focus on and learn what is important to them and skip unnecessary or already-learned information. Traditional classroom training, however, means students are all taught the same information at the same level as all other students in the class, regardless of previous experience or knowledge. It also takes them out of the workplace for extended periods – a cost many employers find difficult to meet because of lost production time.

Adding to the effectiveness of eClasses are enhanced retention levels achieved by students learning chunks of information over short periods of time.  

By taking online units in 20 to 30 minute segments over a number of days, retention increases significantly compared to either day- or week-long instructor-led training in which information is not easily retained. Time away from work no longer becomes an issue with online training.  

Importantly, many of the Certificate qualifications which are now being launched into the printing industry via Printing Industries E-Learning Centre are eligible for Federal Government Incentives, where the employer receives funding for the entire training, ensuring the availability of skills tailored specifically to the employer and industry needs and providing employees with the opportunity to learn and upgrade skills and gain nationally recognised qualifications.  

New Nationally recognised Certificate Qualifications now available
The Certification courses which have just been launched on PrintNet cover the areas of Occupational Health and Safety, Multimedia and Business. 

Occupational Health and Safety
Knowing and understanding your statutory obligations and the legal issues associated with workplace health and safety will assist you in avoiding the unnecessary costs and damage to your company and its image associated with workplace injury and illness. Training is an essential part of this process to enable the structure of a valid and recognised Health and Safety Management Plan.  

While demonstrating your commitment to providing a healthier and safer working environment, this nationally recognised training also clearly demonstrates that you fully understand your legal obligations in relation to health and safety.  

Printing Industries have some members that use the online Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Induction course as a mandatory requirement for all new employees in order to demonstrate the company commitment to workplace health and safety. With a low cost of just $160 for Printing Industries members the online industry induction course meets the specific requirements of employers under OH&S legislation in respect to training.       

Two new additional courses have been added online that qualify for the Federal Government Incentives for employers and include a Certificate III and IV level qualification which provide comprehensive skills and knowledge in OH&S.  

Multimedia  
The importance of Multimedia skills and competencies in the industry are now accepted as an essential requirement for success in the marketplace. Employee skills and knowledge in carrying out a range of industry related programmes.  

These cover specialist knowledge in computer generated art and design, interface design, digital imaging, interactive multimedia, using a graphical user interface. The multimedia courses train students to competency levels in the most widely used software packages (e.g. Flash, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator etc.) and general workplace disciplines in development and presentation of digital images, design concepts, page layout applications, digital files, markup language and overall ensure quality to match the industry standards.  

The electronic delivery of these courses is particularly important in the learning process, since the computer is where these skills are used and makes elearning a singularly important, viable and economical methodology.   

Importantly, all five Certificate qualifications in Multimedia qualify for Federal Government Funding Incentives.  

Business Administration  
The skills needed in the printing industry at all levels to ensure efficient administration and basic management skills, up to and including senior management levels and Small Business owners, are critical in today’s business environment.  

Three Certifications are now available through online delivery, covering the spectrum for Basic to Senior/Small Business owner levels.  

The Certificate II level is designed for basic office administration. Certificate III and IV are designed to cover the essential requirements for management and administration and Small Business Management.  

More information such as registration and Federal Government incentive information is available from Printing Industries E-Learning Centre.

Printing Industries Expands its Online Training (pdf - 588.3 kb) PDF version as published in PRINT21 Magazine August 2006 edition.