Secretary Note – November

October I was on the road again and this time managing an overnight stay in my home town, Timaru.  It was fantastic to catch up with some of the members that we see at our annual events, and also equally pleasing to meet the members that prefer to stay in their own backyard as networking and conferences are not for everyone, nonetheless they welcomed my visit and listened intently to the visions and goals that the association has on its agenda moving into 2021.   As I visited each sign shop there appeared to be …..

an overall feeling of positivity, good banter and future planning amongst the leaders and staff which was great to experience and see in our regional towns.

I also popped into a couple of print shops while in Timaru and Oamaru, as there is a growing interest and need to understand where both our sign and print industries are heading and the reasons why.  I was lucky enough to get to visit a local print shop in Timaru, where they happily showed me around their premises and established signage section.   Understanding some of the reasons why print shops are setting up signage divisions was beneficial to know, as it seems it is purely driven by customer’s expectations of wanting a one-stop shop for all print & signage requirements.  It is common knowledge that setting up a sign shop is far more cost-effective compared to setting up a print shop, however, it’s just not that easy to self-teach specific skills in sign making without knowledge and experience of the trade.  Educating not only our own industry but also those that choose to diversify into signage will give a better understanding into the complexity of sign making.

By obtaining the right skills and knowledge needed for sign making is a no brainer, especially if you want to exceed your customer’s expectations by offering quality signage services and products that are fit for purpose.  The Signee Industry Program is Industry recognized and certified and its purpose is to ensure that every sign or print business that invests into educating their staff will have the expert knowledge and skills needed to retain the industry standards at a high level while adding value to any businesses.

In summary, it is clear that more highly skilled sign makers are needed, and whether you are in business as a sign maker or a printer with signage offerings, by working together to educate, train and upskill will benefit everyone, ultimately raising the quality of workmanship and standards in sign making nationwide.