VMA push to protect apprenticeship skills

The Visual Media Association (VMA) has formally submitted to the Federal Government’s Strategic Review of the Australian Apprenticeship Priority List a call for urgent recognition of the print, signage, and packaging sectors as critical sovereign manufacturing industries requiring skills and training support.

The VMA’s submission highlights that the nation’s print, sign, and packaging trades underpin essential services, from food and pharmaceutical packaging to health, as well as government communications, transport, and logistics directions.

The Association also notes that the print, packaging, and sign sectors contribute more than $16.9 billion annually to the Australian economy and employ over 340,000 Australians directly and indirectly. The submission notes that they represent the nation’s largest manufacturing workforce and a cornerstone of sovereign production capability.

“The print, sign and packaging sectors are high employing manufacturing industries with diverse skills requirements,” said Kellie Northwood, Chief Executive Officer, Visual Media Association. “Our apprenticeships produce the skilled tradespeople who ensure that vital communication, packaging, and sign production systems continue to operate for every Australian. To exclude these trades from priority recognition risks hollowing out sovereign manufacturing capacity.”

The submission points to three key workforce pressures — attracting new entrants, retaining apprentices through completion, and keeping qualified tradespeople within the industry — challenges particularly acute in regional areas where training delivery has declined.

It additionally calls for a principles-based, evidence-driven approach that strengthens national capability rather than responding only to short-term labour shortages. The VMA argues that the current methodology used by Jobs and Skills Australia does not accurately reflect workforce demand in these sectors, where acute skills shortages, an ageing workforce, and rapid technological transformation are combining to threaten long-term sustainability

Among its key recommendations, the VMA proposes:
·      Prioritising sovereign manufacturing trades within the Apprenticeship Priority List;
·      Establishing a transparent annual review cycle with formal consultation through peak industry bodies;
·      Introducing a Future Skills Stream to recognise new and emerging roles in digital print and sign automation and sustainable packaging technologies; and
·      Expanding eligibility to include hybrid trade-professional roles bridging design, production, and technology.

It further proposes a “Future Skills Stream” to identify and include new roles emerging through digital automation, advanced fibre processing, and sustainable packaging,  ensuring Australia’s training framework keeps pace with manufacturing innovation.

Northwood emphasised that apprenticeships in these trades provide structured, nationally accredited qualifications that informal training cannot replace.
“Our members rely on apprenticeships to maintain quality assurance, innovation, and safety standards. We need a stable, skills-focused framework that builds the next generation of creative and technical tradespeople.”

Building on previous campaigns through 2024 and 2025, the submission firmly states that Australian manufacturers must be supported as the priority on all counts, from skills and training to government tendering. It concludes that Australia’s sovereign manufacturing capability depends on an adaptive, inclusive, and future-focussed apprenticeship system, ensuring that local skills remain central to national productivity and economic resilience.

The Association’s recommendations align with the Government’s National Skills Agreement and Employment White Paper priorities for sustainable, inclusive, and regionally balanced employment pathways.
“Protecting these trades isn’t just about jobs, it’s about securing Australia’s ability to make, move, and communicate for itself,” concluded Northwood.