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Where are the jobs, and where is the trade heading
The graphics industry has changed markedly over the years. Paper newspapers take up less space than before, but at the same time new areas have emerged — packaging, signs, large format and personal printing. For a graphics technician, this means the trade is alive, but it looks different than for a generation ago.
As a graphic technician you find work in print shops and graphic production companies but also in companies that manufacture their own printed materials. Workplaces range from smaller specialist print shops to large production facilities.
Graphic technician is a trade that brings several formerly independent crafts together — including printing, finishing and bookbinding. It makes you versatile: you can both run a printing press and finish the product afterwards, and that is a strength in a modern workplace where you need to be able to do several things.
Like many trades demand for handcrafts fluctuates with the business cycle but skilled workers with technical understanding and quality sense are still in demand. When experienced people retire there is a continuous need for new hands who can operate and understand production equipment.
The machines are becoming more automated and digitally controlled and this moves some of the work from manual to monitoring adjusting and troubleshooting. At the same time sustainability matters more: recycled paper less waste and more environmentally friendly paints are increasingly a requirement from customers. The one who keeps up with technology and understands production stands well in the print shop of the future.