Business News
Prime Minister recognises PrintIT!
Tuesday 14. October 2008 - 85,000 school students benefit from industry-backed GCSE curriculum-mapped vocational course
Over 85,000 students in schools across the country are benefiting from taking part in PrintIT!, an industry-backed educational initiative designed to raise the profile of the printing industry and attract young people to consider a career in print. Launched in 2005, PrintIT! is targeted at year 10 students of GCSE Graphic Products and Product Design, and is a bold collaboration between the printing industry, the Specialist Schools & Academies Trust (SSAT) and leading charity The Fairtrade Foundation. The initiative is driven by sector skills council, Proskills, and funded entirely by print industry organisations.
The Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown MP was quick to recognise the fact that the core values of PrintIT! are closely in tune with the new 14-19 year old Diplomas recently launched by the government. In response to the 2008 PrintIT! awards, Mr Brown commented, “It [PrintIT!] is an excellent example of how work-related learning can help prepare young people for their future working lives and on their journey to a successful adulthood. It is this sort of imaginative, exciting and practical learning that will be a feature of the new Diplomas that will be taught for the first time this year.”
This year, over 25,000 students have registered to take part in the new PrintIT! course, the highest number of registrations since its launch in 2005. With 60,000 students having already taken part over the past three years, this latest registration figure will take the total number of students to take part in PrintIT! to over 85,000.
During the autumn term, students will plan a print-based campaign on behalf of The Fairtrade Foundation, and in the process, gain an understanding of the range of careers available in a modern, high-technology printing industry. Central to the success of the initiative are the extensive teaching collaterals and student workbooks provided by PrintIT! and the innovative Twinning programme which brings industry into the classroom. Print companies are twinned with their local schools to visit the students, assist the teachers, and to bring a vocational aspect to the course.
Expectations for PrintIT! 2008/9 are high as GCSE design and technology exam results prove. Alan Nanson, Design and Technology teacher at Keswick School, Cumbria where PrintIT! 2007 winners, Sarah Kitching and Emily Webzell study, is delighted with the influence the initiative has had on pupils. Both girls achieved two grades higher than predicted with Emily achieving an A and Sarah an A*. Mr Nanson comments, “The experience of winning PrintIT!, the award ceremony in London and visiting printers has had a significant influence on both girls, giving them added knowledge and confidence in the subject and something to aim for.”
Paul Evans, Project Director of PrintIT! believes that much of PrintIT!’s ongoing success is due to the continued support it receives from Industry. “It is a testament to the commitment of all those involved that we have been able to establish PrintIT! as a successful, growing initiative, and a forerunner in a new era of vocational learning.”
Entries to the PrintIT! competition must be submitted by the middle of January 2009. The students and teachers of shortlisted entries will be invited to attend an awards ceremony in March 2009.