Tony's Corner
New workforce coalition will address recruitment
A group of concerned associations, educators and industry
reps has formed the Graphic Communications Workforce
Coalition. Its purpose is to coordinate the efforts of all organ-
izations representing the printing and graphic communications
industries to create awareness, recruit new talent, and provide
a framework for apprenticeship and training programs – in
addition to retaining our existing workforce. By combining
the separate initiatives of various organizations and companies,
coordinating their actions, and sharing ideas and resources, it’s
expected that everyone in our industry will benefit.
I spoke to 50-year printing veteran John Berthelsen, who
leads this important new initiative. He’s the former president of
commercial printer Suttle-Straus (Waunakee, WI). After leading
the company for 35 years, he retired at the end of 2014 and now
works out of Las Vegas for the US Print and Graphics Scholarship
Foundation (Warrendale, PA) that supports post-secondary
education. Obviously his passion for print has never waned.
In the upcoming school year, the foundation will provide more
than 200 students with $500,000 (USD) in scholarships.
the group. Currently, there’s no cost to join, only the desire
to participate and make our industry better. About 24 organ-
izations already have. For more information contact John at
[email protected] or phone 1-608-575-3904.
Here in Canada we have the unheralded (in my opinion)
CPISTF (Canadian Printing Industries Scholarship Trust
Fund) that was initiated by the Canadian Printing Industries
Association in 1971. Since then, hundreds of thousands of
dollars have been donated as a result of the generosity of
firms and individuals associated with the printing industry.
The fund’s objective is to attract the most talented young
people by providing financial assistance to them while they’re
enrolled in a graphic arts management or technical program.
For more information please visit printscholarships.ca. Finally,
it’s so gratifying to see these efforts gain momentum on both
sides of the border. Their organizers and leaders deserve our
admiration.
Until next time, always remember that we’re here to help.
In the USA, various associations and companies have taken
steps to address this issue, but there’s never been an organized
joint effort – until now! Those interested in participating are
encouraged to visit https://app.donorview.com/kwMW to join
Tony Curcio
Editor, Graphic Arts Magazine
[email protected]
EXTREMELY VIVID PRINTING
Impressive prints,
incredible productivity—
Jeti Tauro H2500 LED
ur eti auro hybrid printer now relies on low energy
curing to offer
you vivid six color plus white or primer prints on a wide variety of rigid and
fl exible media up to 2.54 m wide.
�
�
�
�
Best in class image uality at production speed
Multiple automation options deliver maximum effi ciency
Built for the demanding 24/7 workloads—speeds up to 2960 ft 2 /hr
Featuring continuous and automated feeding of rigid and fl exible media
2.5 m hybrid;
6C + white/primer
agfagraphics.com
800-540-2432 x 858 0288
6 | July / August 2019 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE
graphicartsmag.com