Dr Gordon Stewart WPO Vice President – Education Head of Training and Professional Development, Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (UK) World Packaging Days – Split, June 2012

 Why is education for packaging important?  Analysis of packaging education needs  Overview of current provision  The UK – A case study  Strengths and weaknesses  An agenda for action

 Meeting the functional requirements of packaging effectively and efficiently  Packaging - the “silent salesperson”  Packaging technologies are changing rapidly and are critical to competitiveness  Avoiding “bad packaging”, for example  Product wastage  “Over-engineered” packaging resulting in the use of too much material  Packs that are difficult to open or re-seal  End of life issues  Optimal packaging – the “Goldilocks Pack”

 Growing population with shortage of materials– UN estimates population increase from 7 to 10 billion by 2100  Especially critical in the developing world where for example, it is estimated that up to 50% of products can be lost between production and consumption  Essential role of packaging in making the best use of the earth’s products and resources

 The population of sub-Saharan Africa is set to grow from 856 million today to 2 billion in 2050  Currently, 25% of people lack adequate food  The absolute number of underweight children has risen since 2000 to 30 million  Packaging is part of the solution and increased packaging education is essential to achieving this

 Long packaging supply chain of producers and users all with different needs – each requiring training and/or education  Including:  Designers –creative and structural  Convertors - using different materials  Users of packaging  People who pack  Packaging machinery engineers  Packaging technologists

 Each point in the supply chain also has its own levels of education that are needed  Cross cutting themes – e.g. sustainability; printing  Each country/region has its own system– e.g. Europe has the European Qualification Framework with education levels 1 – 8 and so does England, but Scotland has 2 systems which are different!!  Even if we simplify by saying: Introductory/Intermediate/Advanced ... long supply chain and different levels means a complex picture

 University provision:  Very patchy – some countries having few if any undergraduate courses  Some notable exceptions – e.g. US, China,  Provision by Institutes and Associations  Most WPO members do something  In some instances this is significant – e.g. India,  Sometimes education is Government recognised  Links to professional recognition – e.g. Chartered Packaging Professional in the US  Tends to focus on Packaging Technologists or similar levels

 Conferences, seminars, congresses etc  Company-based training  Very significant in many countries  Focused on what is required to do the job  Taught by people who tend to be up-to-date with current practices for individual companies  However it is often....  Designed to meet immediate needs and can be narrow and limited in scope  Company specific – difficult to transfer  Without recognised qualifications

 University provision  Undergraduate – limited to packaging design  Two masters degree courses  College provision in other subject areas with packaging elements e.g. food manufacture  Institute/Association based  IOM3/The Packaging Society – packaging technologists and others  PPMA – for packaging machinery engineers  Company-based – this provides the largest amount  Some public funding for training

 Some good practice at individual institutions– e.g. Michigan State University  Good institute/association engagement which blends industry with the academic – but limited volume  WPO activity  Developing courses/institutes  Recognition scheme  Member contributions and networking  Free of charge use of materials for small companies

 Lack of a solid international culture of packaging education  Limited network of university-based full-time packaging education practitioners  Restricted availability of good teaching and learning materials  Although the WPO is active its capacity is very limited  Absence of recognised qualifications

 Overall, critical shortages of educated/trained packaging employees across the supply chain  Especially marked for packaging technologists  Some parts of the packaging supply chain are hardly covered at all – e.g. those who pack products  Almost total absence of packaging education in some countries that need it  Lack of research literature

 WPO initiatives critical  Development of education provision by members  Enhance education recognition scheme  Support for course development in new countries/regions linked to Institute development  Greater engagement between companies, institutes and universities  Increased networking and sharing of education provision between WPO members  Education across the supply chain e.g. packers  International Network for Packaging Education – role for the WPO?

Many Thanks