The winners of the 2025 LIA Victoria Graduate of the Year Award were named at the Association’s latest technical event, which saw more than 40 industry guests tour the print training facilities at Holmesglen Institute.
Flexo printing apprentice Jackson Young from Harden Packaging is the 2025 Graduate of the Year, and will now receive a $3000 grant provided by The Collie Print Trust to further his career development.
He will also travel to Sydney, courtesy of Award sponsor Heidelberg Australia, to compete in the biennial LIA National Graduate of the Year Awards, which will be presented on 17 October.
Young received his award from Darren Brookes, business development manager at Heidelberg Australia.
David Galbraith, general committee member at the LIA, said Young regularly runs up to eight-colour rewind stock on a variety of substrates, and has been trained on Harden’s entire press fleet, a solventless laminator, slitter and micro-perforator, and has also held the position of operations manager, mounter, first aid officer, and HACCP team leader.
“Jackson is a very future-focused finalist who is passionate about sustainability, intrigued by AI and its application in print manufacturing and improving machine performance, and outside of work is involved in volunteering and giving back to his community,” Galbraith said.
A special Distinction Award, with a $2000 career development grant, was also awarded to Marcel Feillafe, a finishing graduate who recently moved from Ellikon Fine Printing to Bambra Press.
Feillafe was recognised not only for his demonstrated skills, but also for his passion for finishing – in particular, traditional bookbinding – and his desire to continue his learning.
Along with Young and Feillafe, the other 2025 graduate finalists include Sorkim Eng and Davouth Lay from MCC Melbourne, Jack Jankauskas from Newsprinters Wodonga, and Chris Murphy from Amcor.
Lindsay Banks, who coordinates the Graduate Awards program for LIA Victoria, said all Finalists should be incredibly proud of their achievements.
“We say this every year, but it is an incredibly difficult task for our judging panel to determine the winners – not only because their roles, skills and responsibilities are so different, but because each is exceptional in their own way,” Banks said.
“All six of these graduates are leaders in their field, and we have no doubt that they will be leaders of our industry in the future.”
Robyn Frampton, president of LIA Victoria, echoed those sentiments, saying it was an honour for the LIA to be able to recognise, encourage and support the industry’s leading graduates.
“What always impresses me is not only what our finalists have already achieved in their careers, but how engaged and motivated they are to keep learning and developing their professional skills and careers,” said Frampton.
“It has been a privilege to meet them all – we congratulate them most sincerely and will be watching their careers with great interest.
“We are grateful to the Collie Print Trust for their generous support of our Victorian awards, and to our longstanding partner Heidelberg Australia who will support the state winners from around Australia to attend the finals in Sydney, and to supplier association Visual Connections who provides a $10,000 career development grant for the national winner.”
Guests on the night were also treated to a tour from Holmesglen teachers Andrew Readman, Frank Abbley and James Taylor, as well as Holmesglen’s project officer Heather Barmbagiannis, and Liz Jansz, Dean of the Building, Construction, Design and Technology faculty.
The tour included a presentation on current industry training courses and initiatives and Holmesglen’s future plans, a demonstration of print simulations and software, and a tour of the print facilities which feature a range of digital print, wide-format and finishing technologies.
“Our technical events are always a great opportunity to update our knowledge and understanding, and of course to catch up with industry colleagues and friends,” Frampton concluded. “It was great to learn more about how training in our sector continues to evolve to meet industry needs, and we thank Holmesglen for hosting us.”
