* Provide an up-to-date analysis of the set of demand and supply factors that are at work in the printing industry that are shaping current and future expected skills shortages
* Define the specific areas of skills shortage that exist at present and that will be exacerbated in the future
* Discuss and critically analyse the impact of these shortages upon the industry both at local, state and national levels
* Explore a range of feasible vocational training, industry and related strategies that can be applied in the short and longer term to respond to skills shortages in the printing industry in Australia.
1. What are the set of economic, technological, and social factors behind the skills shortage in the printing industry in Australia?
2. Where are those skills shortages most apparent?
3. Are current skills shortages impacting similarly upon smaller and larger printing businesses and their performance?
4. What are the vocational education and training interventions, and related industry strategies, that are being applied, or can be applied more, to manage and resolve the skill shortages in this industry?
Method 1: Literature review. This method will be used to address Research Question No 1 in particular. The existing research by Richardson (2005), other research out of The National Institute of Labour Studies, and research out of ANU, Oxford Economic Papers and related sources, will provide a very good starting point for a brief examination of what is meant by skill shortage, and the value of a demand-supply analysis. Next, literature will be examined about the drivers for change in the printing industry, its major challenges, and the strategies in terms of attracting and training employees that are being applied, both nationally and internationally. The previous work of Callan and Johnston (2002) provides a starting point here, as well as Cope and Freeman (2002) Developing Knowledge Workers in the Printing and Publishing Industries.
Method 2: Quantitative analysis of existing industry data to quantify the direction of the industry and the extent of the skills shortage. This method will be used to address Research Questions No 1 and No 2 in particular. A number of existing quantitative data bases will be accessed to examine current and future trends in the industry, including data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as well as data purchased from IBISWorld research reports containing trends, statistics and analysis on market size, market share of competitors and industry growth rates. Major market segments are identified and also those forces affecting demand and supply within the industry. Performance analysis includes emerging industry trends as well as recent production performance, as well as 5 year forecasts, and examination briefly of issues like the barriers to entry, operating cost structure (industry averages), technology and systems and domestic and international markets.
Method 3: In-depth interviews. This method will be used to address Research Questions No 3 and 4 in particular. The purpose of the interviews will be to add qualitative insights to the more quantitative data reported earlier about industry trends and conditions of demand and supply. Some 40 to 50 interviews will be conducted either face to face or by teleconference with employers, current trainees/apprentices, and teachers from the Queensland School of Printing and Graphic Arts (QSPGA) as well as interstate, as well as officers in State Government departments responsible for training in the industry. Interviews will also be held with members of the relevant Industry Skills Council. It is expected that employers and current apprentices will come from mostly Queensland printing companies (but also their interstate managers with the larger businesses like Kwik Kopy) that include Kwik Kopy Printing, Label print, Go Print, PMP Print, Talbot Press, Queensland Newspapers, Imprint and Scanlon Printing. Other interviews will be held by telephone with interstate respondents to examine the future of printing training in those other locations, including using contacts I have with teachers and industry members at the NSW Institute of TAFE, Printing Industries Association of Australia, and Canberra Institute of TAFE.
Use of a reference group. The research will work closely with a reference group that will consist of representatives from the Industry Skills Council, major employers, VET practitioners, and union officials.
Ethical clearance. Ethical clearance for the project will be sought from the Ethics Committee that operates within The University of Queensland Business School.
Victor Callan has over 25 years of experience as a senior university manager, organisational researcher and management consultant. As a senior manager, he has led various Schools, Departments and Clusters within the University of Queensland; as an organisational researcher, he has published several books and over 200 international research articles; and as a management consultant, he has grown a successful management consulting business that has completed management research and consultancies for some of Australia's largest public and private sector organisations.
