DIGC promotes IndiaSkills 2020 and WorldSkills 2021 at Pamex 2020

Making print attractive

By
Shardul Sharma
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226
Radha Ramesh and Swapnil Erande of DOT Institute of Graphic Communication at Pamex 2020

As the Authorised World Skills India Training Centre (AWSITC) for Print Media Technology, the DOT Institute of Graphic Communication (DIGC) promoted IndiaSkills 2020 and WorldSkills 2021at Pamex 2020 and got a good response.

As part of Skill India mission, World Skills India is an initiative of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India. Print Media Technology has been recognized as a ‘Skill’ as part of the Media & Entertainment Skills Council (MESC), governed under the NSDC. Aimed at promoting different skills on the regional, national and global levels, MESC strives to bring these skills to the forefront by creating awareness and generate opportunities in the Industry.

“This initiative is a good form of publicity for the print industry as many young people are not aware of what the print industry can offer. The idea is to propagate print so that students opt for print as a career option. Also, the print industry will benefit because of the skilled workforce,” says Radha Ramesh of DIGC.

World Skills Competition is the biggest skill competition in the world. More than 1500 contestants, below the age of 23, compete for gold, silver and bronze medals, in over 50 skills. The competitors represent the best of their peers and are selected through skill in World Skills Member countries. The recently concluded World Skills Competition 2019 held at Kazan, Russia saw the 48-member Indian team win one gold, one silver and two bronze medals besides 15 Medallions of Excellence.

The process includes registration, district, state, regional and national level competition (IndiaSkills). The next IndiaSkills competition would be held in September 2020, for which the registrations are open now. The only eligibility criterion to participate is that the candidate must be born on or after 1 January 1999. Interested candidates can register on www.worldskillsindia.co.in on or before 15 January 2020.  The shortlisted contestants will get a chance to compete at the national level competition – IndiaSkills 2020. The winners of IndiaSkills Competition 2020 will represent the country in their respective skill category at the global level at the 46th WorldSkills Competition to be held in September 2021 at Shanghai, China.

DIGC will be providing intensive training in Print Media Technology to the shortlisted contestants to prepare them for the next IndiaSkills and WorldSkills.

2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India

Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.

The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry. While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.

The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.

Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.

Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.

Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.

– Naresh Khanna

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