The AIP 2021 Salary Survey report, developed in partnership with the IoPP, has been released to provide a more detailed breakdown of the people who make up the industry including their roles, education, experience, career satisfaction, concerns and salaries.

Some of the key findings that stood out were how well-qualified packaging professionals are in our region – with 46 per cent of the total respondents having a Postgraduate Degree, how 34.2 per cent have more than 20 years’ experience in the industry and how, even during a pandemic 41.3 per cent were very secure in their job and 27.5 per cent were somewhat secure. 

However, even though the data indicates that the industry has well-qualified professionals, the AIP said there is still a limited amount of people who are qualified in the science, engineering or technology of packaging.

“The Australasian region needs to see more people working in the packaging industry undertaking Degrees such as the Diploma in Packaging Technology, the Certificate in Packaging, the Fundamentals in Packaging Technology and the Master of Food & Packaging Innovation,” it said.

“Having a Degree in the science of packaging and understanding the fundamentals of packaging will go a long way in improving the overall knowledge and skill sets available to ensure that we do not have a technical knowledge void within the industry in the next five to 10 years.

“Not only do we need to encourage more people in the industry to advance their technical skills in packaging, but we also need to see professionals that have worked hard to attain a Packaging-related Degree to be recognised and hired for their expertise.”

The AIP also added that more HR departments and job placement companies need to actively recognise Packaging Degrees and the Certified Packaging Professional (CPP) designation in their position descriptions when hiring packaging technologists and designers, as their technical knowledge is invaluable.

Some key findings from the survey include:

Experience

• 34.2 per cent of the total respondents have more than 20 years’ experience in the packaging industry. This is an indication of longevity in the industry and stable careers. 
• There is an increasing amount of people in the industry that have up to 10 years’ experience which shows that there is a continued opportunity for newcomers to the industry to establish strong careers.

Education

• 46 per cent of the total respondents have extremely high educational qualifications including Postgraduate Degrees.
• 21 per cent of the total respondents have an Undergraduate Degree.

Job function

• 25.2 per cent of the total respondents indicated that they work in Packaging Technology/Design.
• This was followed closely by marketing/sales at 24.4 per cent.

Industry/products

• 47 per cent of the total respondents work in food followed by 13 per cent in the beverage industry.
• 11 per cent indicated that they work in packaging materials.

Satisfaction with job security

• 41.3 per cent of the total respondents are very secure with their job, while 27.50 per cent are ‘somewhat secure’.

The full 2021 AIP Salary Survey report is available to AIP Members and respondents of the survey.

The next AIP Salary Survey will be made available to complete in early 2022.