13 July 2020

Print secure Government approval for the development of a Level 2 Standard

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) has granted approval to the print trailblazer consortium to develop a Level 2 Print Standard.

The Level 2 Print Apprenticeship is vital for people coming into our industry, taking their first steps on a career in print, or gaining accreditation in a role which makes up a huge proportion of jobs in print.

The application for the Level 2 was begun in 2016 and since then - through changing requirements - the consortium of employers, the industry, our training division, other training organisations and our relationship manager at IfATE have all worked together to gain approval of this submission.

The feedback received through the trade press and the information garnered from multiple surveys has proved to be consistently supportive and has continually underlined the need for this standard at every checkpoint. As such we thank everyone who voiced issues and supported the endeavour.

These standards now include occupational duties along with the knowledge, skills and behaviours that are required of a candidate.

Going forward, the consortium that will work through the development of this standard alongside the assessment plan continues to be led by James Buffoni of Ryedale Group who said, "Whilst this has been a long and challenging process, we never wavered because the need for this standard in print is clear: this Level 2 represents a large part of the workforce in print. As such a practical development framework and recognition of achievement will benefit a lot of people who could otherwise be overlooked. We therefore welcomed the positive feedback and acknowledgement from the review panel at IfATE."

Ursula Daly, Programme Director at BPIF and main contact for the consortium proposal said, "This is indeed a great outcome for our industry and whilst we have a lot of work to do to get the standard and the assessment plan defined, we are delighted to have the opportunity to do so."

If you would like to get involved with the consortium that will then go on to develop the standard and the End Point Assessment Plan then please contact Ursula Daly at [email protected]