A new generation of packaging leaders is out there waiting to be found – so let’s find them

So it’s encouraging to see a 36-year-old has taken the reins at Allied Glass. A whippersnapper in manufacturing terms, Alan Henderson has shown great personal ambition – not to mention guts – to lead such a big deal.

He’s not the youngest managing director of a major UK packaging manufacturer; for instance, Polish can maker Can-Pack recently appointed 35-year-old Philip Fisher as managing director for its Scunthorpe plant. There are others; but they are the exception, not the rule.

Just as refreshing is the enthusiasm of the three new design graduates we interview in our ‘Class of 2010’ feature this month. They show that there is a real appetite among young designers to pursue a career in packaging; let’s hope they keep that enthusiasm as they work to secure their first jobs.

I’m also hoping that there will be more young people getting interested in a career in packaging following the government’s announcement of a £200m fund for apprenticeships in industry. That money is going to be pretty thinly spread, no doubt.

And it will be up to individual companies to bring the apprentices in; easier said than done when many manu-facturers are cutting jobs. But it could help.

So some funding is there; and the young  people are there. Now let’s follow the example of Allied and Can-Pack and find the next generation of our industry’s leaders.

Josh Brooks is editor of Packaging News

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