Print Scotland, the trade association and voice of Scotland’s graphic communication industry, has held its fourth annual Scottish Print Apprentice of the Year awards. The occasion is part of its mission to represent the Scottish print community and to highlight the profile of future leaders of the industry.
Garry Richmond, Director of Print Scotland, said:
“There is, without question, a widespread recognition that we need to employ more apprentices to sustain Scotland’s print sector and the need to encourage more apprentices from an increasingly diverse range of backgrounds entering our industry. The sterling efforts of our leading young apprentices in getting to grips with the challenges of a rewarding career in print and print finishing are being acknowledged with these awards.”
The winners of the 2019 Apprentice of the Year Awards were:
- Overall Apprentice of Year – James Taylor, Bell & Bain (Glasgow)
- Level 3 Pre Press – Erin McCarthy, Amer Sports, (North Ayrshire)
- Level 3 Post Press – James McCredie, Bell & Bain (Glasgow)
- Level 3 Press Administration, Louise Docherty, Bell and Bain, (Glasgow)
- Level 3 Press – Arran Rennie, Publicity Printing, (Glasgow)
The awards event in Glasgow, attended by family and friends of the winners, sponsors such as Antalis, HP and Muller Martini, and a cross-section of Print Scotland members, was addressed by Print Scotland’s President, Kevin Creechan, MD of J Thomson Colour Printers, who congratulated the winners and wished them highly successful careers as the industry’s leaders of tomorrow. He said:
“The print industry in Scotland has a real future across a range of skill-sets and needs a constant flow of high-quality and motivated apprentices in even greater numbers, and from an increasingly diverse range of backgrounds, to fulfil its potential. The high-calibre young people we have celebrated today is very much what our industry needs.”
Print Scotland provides training for Modern Apprentices through the Scottish Training Scheme, which provides a grant from the Scottish Government to cover the cost of the training. It also provides a range of Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs) as well as Modern Apprenticeship (MA) certification.