PrintIt! proves its point

PrintIt! proves its point

As PrintIt! kick starts its sixth year for the 2010/2011 academic year, research undertaken by Proskills amongst participating PrintIt! schools has confirmed that it is increasing the profile of the printing industry and attracting potential young talent to consider a future in print. According to the survey results, 61% of past PrintIt! students had gone on to seek work experience in print-related organisations while 87% of teachers believed the PrintIt! programme provided a good insight into the printing industry.

This year, PrintIt! has a introduced a number of new features, including a paper module as part of the student coursework, and a new interactive website (www.printit.org.uk). Working in conjunction with the ‘Two Sides’ Campaign, the new paper module will encourage students to approach their opinions of the paper industry in a new way and consider the advantages of paper as a means of communication over computer technologies and other substrates. The awards ceremony for PrintIt! 2010/11 will take place during Northprint next May 2011.

PrintIt! has also expanded its signature Twinning programme, the element of the campaign that brings the course to life for the students. Schools will now have the opportunity to ‘twin’ with either a printer or paper manufacturer in their local area. Teachers will be able to locate the 20 nearest twinning partners to their school and contact them directly to arrange a twinning visit, via a new interactive section on the PrintIt! website.

The importance of the Twinning programme gained top marks in Proskills’ recent survey. 100% of schools who had ‘twinned’ with a local printer believed the experience to be very worthwhile. Tom Bowtell, general manager, Proskills, said: “We remain committed to growing the PrintIt! initiative and to encouraging young people in education to consider a potential career in the print industry. PrintIt! doesn’t belong to Proskills, it belongs to the whole industry, and it is up to all of us to ensure that it is given the support, attention and encouragement needed for it to continue building a future for our industry, as it has done over the last five years.” 

www.theits.org.uk.