Top 5 NZ apprentices named

PrintNZ has announced the Top 5 finalists in this year’s prestigious Apprentice of the Year Award, with each of the five now set to make an introductory video about themselves, as the awards ceremony has been cancelled.

The Top 5 have each been named a sector apprentice of the year winner. They include:

• Parth Bhatt of McHargs, Christchurch (Binding and Finishing) – Print Finishers’ Association Binding and Finishing Apprentice of the Year
• Vanessa Hooton of Tainui Press, Matamata (Digital Printing) – PrintNZ Digital Apprentice of the Year
• Ryan Scott-Fellows of Hally Labels, Christchurch (Reelfed Printing) – BJ Ball Packaging Apprentice of the Year
• Nurudin Pelenda of Ovato, Auckland (Sheetfed Printing) – Heidelberg Sheetfed Apprentice of the Year
• Bonny Seymour of the Gisborne Herald, Gisborne (Reelfed Printing) – Trust4Skills Reelfed Apprentice of the Year

Coronavirus has meant the PrintNZ Training Graduations where the apprentices would have been recognised have been cancelled.

PrintNZ CEO Ruth Cobb said PrintNZ will continue on the pathway of selecting the overall Apprentice of the Year, and will continue to work alongside the Pride In Print Awards to find a suitable platform to announce the winner of both the Apprentice of the Year Award and Pride In Print Awards winners.

Cobb said these videos will be posted prominently on the association’s website as well as uploaded to PrintNZ’s Facebook page, where friends, family and colleagues can view and interact.

“We hope this goes some way to replacing the exposure and prestige these five fine candidates would have received up on stage at the PrintNZ Training Graduations,” Cobb said.

“The videos will also offer a brief opportunity for the industry to get to know the Top 5 on a further personal basis in complement to that provided by the written word.

“We really hope stakeholders view, like, comment on, and share the videos, and that both their individual stories as well as overall knowledge about the fine standards of work and other achievements within the print sector are spread as far and wide as possible.”