Young People in Print & Packaging (YPIPP) has warned that the UK’s cooling labour market could worsen the print and packaging sector’s long term skills challenge unless businesses continue to invest in young talent.

The intervention from YPIPP follows the release of the ONS labour market overview report in June 2026, which revealed job vacancies across the UK were at their lowest point since 2021. While the new report showed headline employment numbers were largely stable, Jo Stephenson, board member of YPIPP, said this masks serious underlying issues that print and packaging businesses must address.



“This report should be a warning shot for the industry,” she said. “It shows job vacancies are falling, with manufacturing businesses and SMEs showing the sharpest falls. At the same time, our industry continues to face an ageing skills pipeline. We are shutting the door on the next generation of talent at the exact moment when we should be welcoming them through it.

“Our industry depends on highly specialised knowledge that builds up over the years. In the current economic climate, it’s understandable to be cautious when recruiting. But too much short term caution risks creating long term gaps in skills and innovation, and that will have a far bigger negative effect on the industry at large.”

The ONS report is the first since the release of the government’s landmark Young People and Work Review, which found that around a million 16-24 year olds are not in employment, education, or training. Stephenson argues that, by focusing on what the Review called a “lost generation” of young people, the industry can help solve both its own and the nation’s respective employment crises.

“We see first hand through our work with schools, colleges, and universities that young people are ambitious, capable, and interested in meaningful careers. There is no shortage of appetite; there’s a shortage of opportunity.

“The silver lining is that the print and packaging sector can show the leadership that other industries might not. We’re a modern industry that offers careers in automation, AI, robotics, materials science, sustainability, circularity, brand experience, and data-led production. We need to be bold, start telling that vibrant story more broadly, and reach out to engage young people by offering them the opportunities they need.”

Young People in Print & Packaging works to connect young people with careers in the print and packaging industries through education outreach, industry engagement, work experience, and awareness building activities.

www.ypip.co.uk

Image shows Jo Stephenson