The AIP have released the key findings from the 2021 Salary Survey which is a first-of-its-kind for the Australasian Region.
According to AIP Executive Director, Nerida Kelton MAIP, the AIP 2021 Salary Survey report was developed in partnership with the IoPP, to provide a more detailed breakdown of the people who make up the industry including their roles, education, experience, career satisfaction, concerns and salaries.
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“Some of the key findings that stood out were how well-qualified packaging professionals are in our region with 46% of the total respondents having a Postgraduate Degree, how 34.20% have more than 20 years’ experience in the industry and how, even during a Pandemic 41.30 % were very secure in their job and 27.50% were somewhat secure.” Mrs Kelton said.
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AIP Education Director, Prof. Pierre Pienaar FAIP, CPP added that ‘Even though the data indicates that we have well qualified professionals in the industry we still have a limited amount who are qualified in the science, engineering or technology of packaging,’
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“The Australasian Region needs to see more people working in the packaging industry undertaking Degrees such as the Diploma in Packaging Technology, the Certificate in Packaging, the Fundamentals in Packaging Technology and the Master of Food & Packaging Innovation. Having a Degree in the science of packaging and understanding the fundamentals of packaging will go a long way in improving the overall knowledge and skill sets available to ensure that we do not have a technical knowledge void within the industry in the next 5-10 years. Not only do we need to encourage more people in the industry to advance their technical skills in packaging, but we also need to see professionals that have worked hard to attain a Packaging-related Degree to be recognised and hired for their expertise. The AIP would love to see more HR departments and job placement companies actively recognising Packaging Degrees and the Certified Packaging Professional (CPP) designation in their position descriptions when hiring packaging technologists and designers, as their technical knowledge is invaluable.” Prof. Pienaar said.
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Experience
- 34.20% of the total respondents have more than 20 years’ experience in the packaging industry. This is an indication of longevity in the industry and stable careers.
- There is an increasing amount of people in the industry that have up to 10 years’ experience which shows that there is a continued opportunity for new comers to the industry to establish strong careers..
Education
- 46% of the total respondents have extremely high educational qualifications including Postgraduate Degrees.
- 21% of the total respondents have an Undergraduate Degree.
Job Function
- 25.20% of the total respondents indicated that they work in Packaging Technology/Design.
- This was followed closely by Marketing/Sales at 24.40%
Industry/Products
- 47% of the total respondents work in Food followed by 13% in the Beverage industry.
- 11% indicated that they work in packaging materials.
Career Satisfaction
What is the one thing that keeps you awake at night regarding job security?
- The impact of COVID-19 on my job
- Lockdowns & current working conditions
- Redundancy/Job & Business Insecurity
- My company not moving towards the 2025 National Packaging Targets
- Plastics Ban
- Negativity around packaging and plastics
- Lack of career progression
- High expectations and tight deadlines
Satisfaction with Job Security
- 41.30% of the total respondents are very secure with their job, while 27.50% are ‘somewhat secure’.
Jane A Chase CPP, Fellow, Executive Director, IoPP added that the ‘IoPP was thrilled to have the AIP join forces to conduct the first ever global Salary Survey.’
“Using IoPP’s tried and true survey format, we were able to combine efforts to collect data for the first time in an additional region. The data provided was collated and analysed by AIP and is being provided for the first time to shed light on not only the salaries of packaging professionals, but also the trends in the packaging industry in Australasia. The IoPP looks forward to working with AIP for years to come to expand this salary survey to become a very strong report for the Australasian region and the global packaging community.” Mrs Chase said.
The full 2021 AIP Salary Survey report is available to AIP Members and respondents of the survey.
The next AIP Salary Survey will be made available to complete in early 2022.