The packaging industry is going through a boom time. Increased exports, improved technology and awareness among marketers about quality and aesthetic packaging has given an impetus to the industry. The entry of multinationals has lent its own push in demands for international standard packaging.
Wrapping, boxing or bottling go under the name of packaging. It is one of the fastest growing technologies. Packaging industry has to keep pace with the ever increasing needs of the consumer, industrial and military markets. It is full of opportunities for young men who have imagination and have got training in disciplines of engineering, science or marketing. Professional skills in technical subjects like quality control, mechanics or graphic arts also allow entry into the packaging industry. Successful packaging requires involvement of all departments in a company and for this reason a wide line-up of talent and aptitude is called for. Packaging is not a single science, but a combination of the skills from mechanical and electrical engineering, physical and organic chemistry, sales, advertising, food technology, production, printing and design. Increasingly, these diverse talents are coordinated by technically trained executives who can and are thinking in terms of concepts which are broader and all encompassing than their own area of study and training.
Scope of work is really unlimited considering the packaging needs of canned and frozen foods, toiletry and tobacco. Inventions of aerosol cans and bottles, plastic squeeze bottles and trays, aluminium cans, tin-plated steel as thin as foil, and foamed synthetic materials as light as feather have been made. Their introduction as packages has made it possible to better protect products and to enable housewifes to use them more easily than before. Further development which has tremendous potential naturally requires bigger teams of dedicated packaging engineers and technicians in all user and supplier companies.
The present scene is that in most large companies packaging programmes are carried on by men and women having no formal training in packaging but having initial grounding in business administration, purchasing or even subjects like aeronautical engineering. The situation may be improved through formal training of packaging technologies at university and institute level. For this purpose, those deciding to choose packaging as a career, can select their own programme of studies leading to a suitable degree course in main areas of science, engineering or marketing. Design and graphic arts are most useful for packaging careers while marketing or technical subjects improve and widen the perspective and knowledge, increasing the scope of work.
Marketing, machines and materials are the three facets to be considered for development of packaging. So while packaging men are required to become specialists in the area of a single subject to acquire the indepth knowledge for a professional career, they have to grasp the fundamentals of the other two facets of packaging also because a specialist cannot work on a phase without knowledge and appreciation of the work being done by his two counterparts at the same time.
Marketing phase of packaging seems to require a grounding in the business administration, sales, advertising, promotion and graphic design. However, young people interested in the mechanical phases should specialise in mechanical, electrical, electronic, industrial or chemical engineering so as to acquire the requisite grounding for their area of work.
Background of chemistry, chemical engineering or technology, of paper and paperboard, metals or plastics is desirable for pursuing careers in package construction or materials development. A specialist should also take courses in the other areas so as enhance his usefulness to the industry.
