In the US, the Women in Packaging organisation has announced its MILES programme, a series of professional development seminars aimed at helping leading companies to reduce employee turnover.
According to the WMPKG the programme reinforces five core values: Mentor, Invest, Lead, Enable, and Support to help the MILES programme to help concerned corporations "reconnect" with their workforce.
The idea is to help the companies to implement the programme by introducing this set of core values to the company website as a means of disseminating the information.
"The turnover in the packaging industry is in excess of 1 per cent per week. This translates to 50 per cent of all packaging professionals changing jobs in one year. The reality is that companies and corporations must invest in the future of their employees with internal and external professional development programming," noted JoAnn Hines, executive director of Women in Packaging.
For 2003, WMPKG will also offer a series of Leadership Conferences in conjunction with this programme. According to the organisers the aim of these conferences will be to enhance the management skills that professionals in all parts of the packaging industry need to build successful careers in the industry.
WMPKG celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2003. Founded as an organisation dedicated to helping increase diversity in the packaging industry and in particular to encourage industry-wide commitment to the future of women in this field, WMPKG has created many programmes to foster that goal. The organisation serves men and women equally in its professional development programmes.