GUEST WORKERS – FILLING THE SKILLS GAP

Article by James Cryer, JDA, as appeared in Print 21 Magazine

James Cryer argues that the answer to our severe labour shortages is not (only) the result of an antiquated apprenticeship system, but go deeper. He believes that social pressures are discouraging Australians to accept factory-based roles but that these positions can be filled if we caste our eyes beyond our shores – and think laterally.

Australia is not the only country wrestling with the problem of finding enough suitable candidates to man its printing presses and operate its bindery lines. In Japan, it is unusual to find Japanese tradesmen on the factory-floor, as Korean or Chinese printers have largely taken their places – hungry for the money, the work-experience – and the exposure to the lifestyle that a more developed nation offers.

Our local Australian printing industry is being embroiled in the game of “pass the parcel” as governments divest themselves of the responsibility of training, and attempt to push it back onto individual industries. The whole issue of “who pays for job training?” is a complex mish-mash: for example if Coles or Woolies - or MacDonalds - want a checkout chick or a trainee manager they train them themselves. If they want a storeman or an accountant they employ them fully trained, at taxpayers’ expense.

The printing industry, like other trade-based industries, has historically relied on governments to bear the cost of training, on the assumption a bricklayer or printer will repay the community at large with the skills they acquire.

That model, or assumption, may have served us well for a century or more, but now different dynamics are changing the equation. Governments are actively looking to avoid their responsibilities to provide “costly” services, such as roads, hospitals, telecomms - and education.

In addition, we are now experiencing an aging population – and a declining birth rate. In a few years it’s predicted that the number of people retiring from the workforce will actually exceed the number entering it. (One obvious response is to increase the retention rate of mature-age workers in the workforce, but that’s another issue.)

Finally, with universities actively competing in the marketplace for students, it has made factory-floor positions a lot less appealing (everyone wants to be a brain-surgeon) - and this has been exacerbated by a more buoyant jobs market which has taken many school-leavers away from the “trades” and into quicker money-earning fields.

There has been some suggestion that we should invigorate the apprenticeship system and refresh the traditional TAFE-based approach to acquiring trade skills. The TAFE mindset is still stuck in the ‘70’s (according to comments reported in last month’s PRINT21 article on the skills shortage), the apprenticeship principle operates on the fatal flaw of apprentices being regarded as menial labour with no real incentive to be trained. This is not any company’s fault, as most firms don’t have the skills, time or resources to undertake a proper training regime. There are some exceptions.

I suspect that both institutions (apprenticeship and TAFE) are, however, anchored in our psych and are incapable of change. Starved of government funding, they are certainly not able to respond at the rate needed to keep pace with changing global realities. To the extent that Australia wishes to participate as an international trading partner (viz, the recent so-called “Free Trade Agreement” with the US) we have to adapt and adopt best-practice standards.

What to do – in a hurry?

One quick fix would be to adopt the policy of importing guest workers under properly established protocols that ensure that –

This is not an entirely new concept although it is a contentious one, likely to arouse the passions – both for and against. Certain local companies have already gone down this path – Forgacs, a large Newcastle-based engineering group imported 20 Hungarian welders recently. Vaudreys, a medium-sized metal-fabricator in Dandenong imported 60 Chinese welders and it is believed that Korean and other Asian nationals are filling roles on large infrastructure projects in Western Australia. South Australia is believed to want to import British policemen to top-up its local force, proving that there’s no limit to the possibilities!

It should be said that these projects were undertaken only after failing to find enough locally trained people to fill the roles, and that there was some opposition from the local unions.

Sound familiar? From my perspective in the industry, I hear the daily refrain of “I just can’t find a (good) printer, or, bindery operator”. Admittedly, some regions and cities are affected worse than others – but there is no question the printing industry is being caught in the pincer movement of fewer – not more – apprentices, whatever the reasons.

It should be said, there is nothing morally wrong with such a “guest worker” program, if conducted properly. In fact, some studies have shown it actually enhances the wealth of the host country by unlocking productivity that otherwise wouldn’t be available. Furthermore, these workers are also consumers, so the benefits are fed into the community/economy at large.

The US has recently embarked on such a program after admitting that guest workers were the only mechanism by which to boost their output within a short time frame. They have accepted the reality of the “stagnation” of developed countries’ populations.

Perhaps we should accept the reality that much of printing/bindery is perceived as menial, not attractive to the modern generation. (I can admit to the irony of having a highly educated population – and not being able to find a plumber when you need one.)

We are putting our heads in the sand if we say - “Let’s change our approach, our institutions, our mindset” – it’ll never happen. We in the West won’t sacrifice our lifestyle and our choice is not to work on the factory-floor.

The only possible answer is to recognise that there is a large pool of skilled printers and bindery operators in certain areas to our north who would gladly undertake the work, which we shy away from. And let us not underrate their skills as tradesmen – take a look at the award-winning coffee-table books and high quality print coming out of Asia.

Utilising available talent in a targeted manner solves several problems all at once - not the least of which is our humanitarian obligation as a rich country, to our near neighbours – particularly in light of the recent tsunami disaster. Using selected guest workers is exporting employment, in economic terms.

It may also be the only way out of our chronic skills shortage.