The Flexographic Industry Association (FIAUK) has confirmed the appointment of a Shadow Board.
Mirroring the main FIAUK board, the Shadow Board has been established to provide young flexo industry members with a voice on the future of the industry, to encourage new talent into the sector and to provide a younger viewpoint on communication going forward. Launching in February, the group will be responsible for driving and managing key projects that align with the long-term goals of the flexo sector, and feed into the main FIAUK board.
Debbie Waldron-Hoines, Consultant CEO of the Board at FIAUK, said, “The flexo industry, as well as the wider printing and packaging industry, is facing a real challenge in attracting the next generation of professionals. As a result, we see ‘brain drain’; a lot of our legacy knowledge and hard-won expertise naturally ageing out of the workforce. Of course, we know the flexographic industry as an exciting, dynamic and advanced sector – but typically, we have not communicated that well and now see a real shortfall in people joining the industry. By appointing a Shadow Board comprising individuals aged 25-35, we are further playing our part in securing the future of flexo, guiding its ongoing momentum and replenishing the talent pool. For us, it is about giving young flexographic printing professionals a voice and seeing challenges through their lens. They are the future of the industry, so naturally we want to give them hands-on experience of long-term industry projects with real weight and get their perspective on how we can build a stronger talent attraction and retention pipeline.”
The Shadow Board appointments include staff between the ages of 25 and 35, from FIAUK Diamond Plus Partner Sun Chemical, as well as FIAUK Diamond Partners Smurfit Kappa, Siegwerk, Sandon Global and Absolute Engineering and Ruby Partner Nelipak.
Debbie adds, “The driving force behind FIAUK is to accelerate industry progress and advocate for its long-term interests, meaning we cannot only focus on today’s sector needs. Our Shadow Board, comprising skilled individuals from partner businesses, goes far beyond a taskforce – it’s planting the seeds of future industry success and ensuring that tomorrow’s flexo leaders can make an impact today.”
