Education and training in the packaging industry is not what it used to be, Rob McCann, tooling director for Bobst and president of the International Association of Diecutting and Diemaking (IADD), said during a panel conversation at Bobst’s Packaging Forward 2026. The event, held May 19 at the company’s Atlanta Competence Center, was geared toward connecting young professionals in the folding carton and corrugated segments, and elevating them in their careers.
McCann said that a lack of apprenticeships is among the issues this generation of packaging industry employees is facing, often resulting in them being thrust into their roles before they are ready. At best, this leads to reduced production quality; at worst, it increases safety risks.
“What we see now is on-the-job training, which most of the time just means you shadow somebody for two weeks and then it’s your time to shine,” he said. “… So the problem there is, if the person that’s giving the training has never received formal, actual training, then we know that with each generation we lose a bit. If they never had full formal training — and even if they did — then whatever they pass on, they lose 10%, 15%, 20%.”
Read the rest of this story on Packaging Impressions, a publication of PRINTING United Alliance, ASI’s strategic partner.
