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Printers and Print Production Workers jobs in Nowra

Printers and Print Production Workers in Nowra do the same work as printers and print production workers anywhere in Australia, but who employs them, and under which licence, is local. Nowra's largest employing industries are Health care and social assistance, Retail trade and Public administration and safety, which shapes both where the work is and how steady it tends to be. Licensing is set by New South Wales, not nationally — the requirements below are the ones that apply here.

Vacancies

Current printers and print production workers vacancies in Nowra

No printers and print production workers roles are advertised in Nowra right now. Licensing and who hires locally still apply — this page updates when a matching role appears.

Licensing

Licensing for printers and print production workers in NSW

Printing is not a licensed occupation in any Australian state or territory. No jurisdiction requires a printer, prepress operator or print finisher to hold a personal licence or registration. The regulatory obligations that apply are environmental and work health and safety ones attaching to the business rather than the tradesperson: licensing or approval for the storage and handling of dangerous goods and solvents, trade waste agreements for effluent, and air emissions controls for larger operations. These are administered by each jurisdiction's environment protection authority and WHS regulator, and thresholds differ, but none amounts to an occupational licence.

New South Wales
Not a licensed occupation. NSW Fair Trading does not license printing. The NSW Environment Protection Authority regulates solvent emissions and waste for larger operations, and SafeWork NSW regulates dangerous goods and hazardous chemicals.

Licensing rules change. Confirm with the regulator named above before quoting or contracting — this page is a starting point, not advice.

Local market

Who hires printers and print production workers in Nowra

Two employers dominate and neither is typical of a coastal town: HMAS Albatross, the Royal Australian Navy's Fleet Air Arm base, and Manildra Group's Shoalhaven Starches at Bomaderry — the world's largest wheat gluten and starch plant, with roughly 510 staff plus 400 contractors, making it the South Coast's biggest private employer.

Manildra Group (Shoalhaven Starches), Royal Australian Navy (HMAS Albatross), Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District and Shoalhaven City Council are among the largest employers in Nowra. Most printers and print production workers here, though, are hired by small and mid-sized businesses rather than by the names everyone recognises — which is why so many local vacancies never reach a big job board.

Largest employing industries

Health care and social assistanceRetail tradePublic administration and safetyManufacturingConstructionAccommodation and food services

111,755 people (Shoalhaven City Council area (Local Government Area, the council covering Nowra-Bomaderry and the wider Shoalhaven), ABS Estimated Resident Population at 30 June 2025 (preliminary). The Nowra-Bomaderry urban centre itself is far smaller.).

Role

What the job involves

Printers and print production workers set up and operate offset, digital, flexographic and screen printing presses, prepare files and plates for press, and bind and finish printed products. ANZSCO spreads the work across three unit groups - 3921 Print Finishers and Screen Printers, 3922 Graphic Pre-press Trades Workers and 3923 Printers - and it is not a licensed occupation anywhere in Australia.

  • Interpret job dockets, specifications and colour proofs
  • Prepare and impose artwork files and output plates for press
  • Set up presses including plate loading, register, ink and dampening
  • Run production and monitor colour, register and print quality against the proof
  • Match colour to specification using densitometers, spectrophotometers and standards
  • Operate guillotines, folders, laminators, binders and finishing equipment
  • Carry out press washes, routine maintenance and roller and blanket care
  • Manage substrate and ink stock and handle waste and chemicals safely

Training

Qualifications and training

  • ICP31220 Certificate III in Printing - the press operator trade qualification, covering setup and operation of letterpress, lithographic, flexographic, digital and screen printing
  • ICP31415 Certificate III in Print Communications - the pre-media pathway, covering layout, artwork preparation and image and text manipulation for production
  • Australian Apprenticeship or traineeship combining paid work with the Certificate III
  • Post-trade study in colour management, print management or graphic design for progression into estimating, prepress specialist or management roles

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Press setup, make-ready and register control · Colour management, matching and measurement to standard · Substrate and ink knowledge across stocks and applications · Prepress file preparation, imposition and preflighting · Bindery and finishing operations including guillotine and folder setup · Mechanical fault finding and preventive press maintenance · Waste minimisation and make-ready efficiency · Safe handling of solvents, inks and dangerous goods

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Printers and Print Production Workers work in Nowra — licensing, hiring and what employers look for.

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Sources

  • Printers and Print Production Workers — occupation data · verified 2026-08-04. ABS ANZSCO 2022, Minor Group 392 Printing Trades Workers - https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/classifications/anzsco-australian-and-new-zealand-standard-classification-occupations/2022/browse-classification/3/39/392; ABS ANZSCO 2022, Unit Group 3923 Printers - https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/classifications/anzsco-australian-and-new-zealand-standard-classification-occupations/2022/browse-classification/3/39/392/3923; training.gov.au ICP31220 Certificate III in Printing - https://training.gov.au/Training/Details/ICP31220; training.gov.au ICP31415 Certificate III in Print Communications - https://training.gov.au/Training/Details/ICP31415; Fair Work Ombudsman list of awards - https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employment-conditions/awards/list-of-awards; NSW Environment Protection Authority - https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/; EPA Victoria - https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/
  • Nowra — local data · verified 2026-08-04. ABS Regional population, 2024-25 https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/regional-population/latest-release; ABS Census employment by industry https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats; Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District https://www.islhd.health.nsw.gov.au/; Shoalhaven City Council https://www.shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au/

Hiring printers and print production workers in Nowra?

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