apfa backs next gen print finishers

Melbourne apprentice Daniel Menkens is the first print finisher in 10 years to scoop the $15,000 Collie Print Trust apprentice of the year prize at the RMIT Media Industry Training Awards 2010/2011.

Menkens from Signs Publishing Company also won the Australian Print Finishers Association’s (apfa) inaugural apprentice of the year in print finishing level 3 award for 2010. The 2011 winner is Marilyn May from Gippsland Trade Printers. Association president, Peter Johnston presented each apprentice with a $500 cheque for the win.

According to Johnston, this is the first time in the association’s history that it has sponsored a print industry award. apfa has been planning such an award for some time, as the group finds fostering the talent of a new generation of print finishers to be of critical importance within the industry.

“apfa is delighted to be part of these important awards, which encourage excellence and recognise the achievements of apprentices and, it should be said, businesses like Signs Publishing Company and Gippsland Trade Printers who are prepared to support young people and the future of our industry by taking on apprentices,” says Johnston.

Pictured: Daniel Menkens (l) with Simon Couchard.


Phillip Barnes, finishing teacher at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), says May took some time to gain confidence in her chosen trade but soon surpassed her peers through knuckling down and dedication to learning as much as she could.

“If Marilyn started her apprenticeship thinking everyone would know more than her, she not only caught up, but quickly passed many of her peers through her determination and hard work and became the go to apprentice within her class,” he says.

Barnes was also recognised on the night with the Collie Trust Staff Scholarship, for his work at RMIT.

Pictured: Marilyn May (l) with Simon Couchard.