Polestar And Sun Shed Combined Light On Training

Sun Chemical is teaming up with the Polestar Group, by contributing to its print dynamics training programme.

Sun Chemical is teaming up with the Polestar Group, by contributing to its print dynamics training programme, which is being used to help train existing printing staff and inform young people considering print as a career.

The programme will allow trainees to work at their own pace and benefit from the ability to beam information from their laptops to interactive white boards.

Amongst the first to benefit from the new CD programme will be the 37 new apprentices Polestar recruited in January at five of its UK sites.

They are beginning a flexible 2-3 year programme of training and learn-on-the-job employment.

The venture, which is due to be completed by November 2004, is being designed, devised and managed by Polestar's training manager, Darrin Stevens.

It will comprise six interactive CDs, each with video content, presenting the different manufacturing sectors of UK print - gravure, web offset and sheetfed, flexo, screen, letterpress and digital print.

Ink supplier Sun Chemical has also spotted the benefits the Polestar programme could offer and is funding a ?20,000 inks module presented on CD-Rom and linking to each of the sector CDs.

Mark Humphreys, Sun Chemical's sales director for heatset inks said: "We were so impressed with the Polestar initiative that we saw an excellent opportunity to educate people about ink manufacture and distribution right across the various specialist sectors." Also backing the Polestar venture with resources are major suppliers UPM and Kodak Polychrome Graphics (KPG).

The gravure CD is the first nearing completion and is currently being beta-tested.

The CD for web offset and sheetfed will closely follow it.

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