It is fair to say that if you were to graduate high school tomorrow in Australia and New Zealand there is no direct career path to become a qualified packaging technologist.
With no undergraduate degrees in packaging technology available through universities in the region many find their way into the industry via an engineering, industrial design or food science degree. Very few people start their working life as a packaging technologist or engineer.
The challenge is that Packaging Design and Technology is in fact a science that requires the appropriate higher education and training in the discipline.
The flow on effect is that even though packaging design is well and truly in the spotlight there is a limited supply of truly qualified packaging technologists and designers in the region. Most of these talented people are already entrenched in a business and are not looking to leave their current role anytime soon.
There is a juxtaposition happening right now in the industry and it is interesting to watch.
On one hand the recent abundance of job advertisements for skilled packaging technologists, often thinly veiled in sustainable or procurement roles, is a clear sign that the industry is in desperate search for the ever-elusive qualified packaging technologist.
On the other hand, the high volume of applications every year for the Australasian Bioplastics Association (ABA) and AIP Scholarship Program indicates that many people are looking to upskill and to become a qualified packaging technologist. The applicants are often young and newer to the industry with limited income to be able to invest in a Degree in Packaging. They see the scholarship program as the answer. The sad reality is that there are not enough scholarships available each year for all of the extremely competent applicants.
So how can the industry work together to fill knowledge gaps and skills shortages? How can we help those already in the industry to become qualified packaging technologists, designers and engineers?
Well, the solutions are available and have been for over forty years. As the peak professional body for packaging training and education in Australasia, the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) offers an internationally accredited and globally recognised Diploma in Packaging Technology, a Certificate in Packaging, bite-sized modules wrapped up in the Fundamentals in Packaging Technology (FPT) course and a Master of Food Packaging & Innovation.
The good news is that there are currently a large number of students enrolled in the Diploma and Certificate degrees and many others working on learning modules from the FPT course.
The bad news is that we need to see more enrolments to ensure that the next generation of packaging technologists have the qualifications to one day step into the hard-to-come-by senior packaging roles.
So, this is where you can help. Consider working with the AIP to develop an internal scholarship program for your packaging team or pay for a Diploma in Packaging Technology or Certificate in Packaging degree for someone who shows promise in this field.
Another way is to offer your support to grow the scholarship program currently available in Australia and New Zealand so that we can collaboratively enhance the skills within the industry.
The Australasian Bioplastics Association (ABA) recognises the benefit of scholarships, as does the AIP, so please join with us to develop qualified Packaging Technologists, Designers and Engineers so that we can watch them grow into the Packaging Managers of tomorrow.
Nerida Kelton MAIP
Executive Director – Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP)
Vice President Sustainability & Save Food – World Packaging Organisation (WPO)