Issue 30 – 2006
1. Tasmanian PICA Awards
This year’s Tasmanian PICA (Printing Industry Craftsmanship Awards) will be held on Saturday 12 August in the Tasman Room of Wrest Point Casino commencing at 7.00 pm. Tickets are available by contacting Simon Bevan, PICA Awards Dinner, PO Box 424 Hobart. Tickets are only $75 each. The theme of the evening is 60’s – it’s a flower power party, so dress to impress.
The Tax Office wishes to reminded businesses the deadline for June quarter activity statements and quarterly superannuation contributions is today, Friday 28 July 2006. Deputy Commissioner Geoff Robinson urged businesses to take advantage of Tax Office help available to avoid penalties for late lodgement of activity statements and any payment owing. Businesses concerned that they may not meet the deadline should contact the Tax Office as soon as possible on 13 28 66.
3. Fuel Tax Credits
The Federal Government has introduced a new system of fuel tax credits which became operative on 1 July 2006. A guide to fuel tax credits for businesses is available from the Australian Tax Office.
4. RMIT’s ICGT First Pre-Apprenticeship Course
RMIT is very proud to announce that it has commenced its first Pre-Apprenticeship Course with 20 participants. The students will undergo 16 weeks of study which gives an overview of all the various areas of print, including digital and offset. Please start thinking about employment opportunities for these students. Contact at RMIT is Fay Mitchell on 9925 9446.
5. What Will US Commercial Printing Look Like in 2008? / 2011?
Two dissimilar forecasts created by forecasting models in the US have shown quite a different picture of the print market in 2008 and 2011. Using the broadest measure of the number of commercial printers from the U.S. Department of Commerce:
· one forecast shows today's approximately 35,000 establishments declining to 28,000 by 2011;
· the other shows the number of establishments remaining about the same.
Forecasting models
come in a variety of flavours. Some are very conservative and minimize
historical changes and develop an average forecast. Other models, however, place
significant emphasis on the most recent trends. The two models we used for this
exercise occasionally result in surprising consistency; there are often two
paths to the same destination in forecasting. Other times the models will
produce markedly divergent projections. Understanding how they got there is
quite revealing.
The
scenarios were for 2011:
The first
forecast projects a decline in the number of small (<$2 million in sales) and
mid-size (between $2 and $10 million in sales) establishments, and only a
negligible decline in large ones (>$10 million in sales). Because most
industry shipments are from large plants, the decline in establishments is
somewhat mitigated. Overall shipments, however, are about 30% lower than
today.
The second forecast projects a significant
downsizing of the industry with large and mid-size establishments shrinking to
become small and mid-size businesses. This is not so unrealistic considering the
kinds of printing technologies that have become available that significantly
reduce the amount of production staffing, especially important as costs need to
be restructured in what will likely continue as a hostile environment for print
demand and print pricing that demands significant productivity enhancement. Did
we say hostile? A 40% decline in demand would definitely earn that
category.
Courtesy: Dr Joe Webb, http://www.printforecast.com
The Australian Bureau of Statistics released a discussion paper recalculating the number of hours worked by Australians per year. The latest OECD data on hours worked for all the OECD countries shows Australians work on average 1,811 hours per year which is fifth in the OECD and well above the weighted average of 1724. The paper from the ABS indicates that this is a significant over-estimate, with the correct hours being about 84 hours lower at 1,727 hours per year. This would place Australia at thirteenth in the OECD and only slightly above average.
7. Standards Australia - Security Standards
Standards Australia has released a set of new security Standards designed to help government and business protect the community and key infrastructure against a major disaster or terrorist attack. The Standards are also designed to help business recover from catastrophic events such as storms, earthquakes or criminal activity including computer hacking or information theft. Standards Australia has been working with Federal and state governments and the owners and operators of major infrastructure for the past year to develop the new Standards, which are as follows:
· Employment screening;
· CCTV standards;
· Information security management; and
· Business continuity management.
Further information on the new Standards can be found at www.standards.org.au.
8. Hallam Student Seeks Apprenticeship
A Year 12 VET/VCAL Eummerring Secondary College student has contacted me seeking a printing apprenticeship. This follows a presentation Printing Industries did a couple of months ago at their careers day. If you have a position available, please contact Michelle Eeles.
9. Casual (Part Time) Printer Required – Lilydale
The position would ideally suit an older tradesperson seeking regular work on a single colour GTO and A2 Colour Presses. Please contact Frank Whelan or Warren Davis at Commodore Press in Lilydale on 9735 4444.
10. Training Courses
OH&S 5 Day Course August 21, 22, 23, 29, 30
Customer Service that Excels September 13
OH&S 1 Day Refresher September 5
New Manager/Supervisor October 4, 5, 6
Print Production Management October 11, 12, 13
Print Sales (to be confirmed) November 16, 17, 30, 31
Go to Printnet or contact Michelle for a complete list of our upcoming training courses.
11. What’s On
To find out What’s on in the world of print go to What’s On
And Finally
A Polish immigrant applied for a driver's license. First, of course, he had to take an eye sight test. The optician showed him a card with the letters:
'C Z W Y N S T Z C.'
Can you read this?" the optician asked. Read it?" the Polish guy replied, "I know the guy.
The Team at Printing Industries Association of Australia
Unit 3, 5-7 Compark Circuit
Mulgrave Vic 3170
Ph 03 8541 7333
Fx 03 9561 8780
michelle@printnet.com.au
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