APN apprentice awarded top PrintNZ prize

APN Print Ellerslie’s Angelo Gedult triumphs as apprentice of the year.

Gedult, (pictured), took out the top award from over 100 other apprentices and trainees at last week’s Pride In Print awards. Commenting on the win, an excited Gedult said that it would benefit his future in printing enormously.

“I came from South Africa to New Zealand and didn’t expect ever to come so far,” he said. “I feel so much for the print industry, and I want to give back to it. This [award] makes me more determined to do so.”

Initially applying for a guillotine apprenticeship, Gedult then switched to printing. He lists switching from sheet fed to a reel apprenticeship as the biggest challenge. After two and a half years of training, Gedult plans to continue studying in order to advance his career. “My goals are to complete my print management diploma to gain skills that will set me up for future management opportunities,” he said.

According to PrintNZ Training chief executive, Joan Grace, picking the winners was very tough due to the high calibre of the finalists.

“In the end, what decided it was a mix of Angelo’s knowledge of technical skills, and his understanding of the role he has in a team of people who produce the newspapers every day. He has a genuine nature – he is confident but also very humble,” she explained.

“He was able to articulate some goals for his future and the steps that he’s going to take to get to those goals. I think that is a real gem with the apprentices – people who are able to look forward, identify means to get there and make it happen.”