Brisbane firm Inprint has won big at the LIA Queensland Graduate of the Year Awards with one of its apprentices winning the title and the other coming second.
Inprint’s Jonathon Fox was named top apprentice while his colleague Scott Day was the runner up.
Inprint compliance and improvement manger Gary Bender says the pair, who both work in the bindery department, have both been signed to permanent positions.
“We are so proud of both of them, they have great skills that, make them valuable employees of the business and we think they will have long print careers,” he says.
Sarah Janson from HPD Creative and David Pyers from Designed to Stick were the other finalists.
[Related: More awards coverage]
Apprentices with some ways to go in their training were also honoured in the PIAA Queensland Early Stage Apprenticeship Awards, with four finalists from each year.
Sarah Kennedy from Colorcorp was the top first year apprentice, Shea Agney from Visy Can for second year, and Jayd Kiely at APN Print for third.
Organisers says all judges agreed there was ‘really nothing between the candidates’ and that the decision on winners was ‘just splitting hairs’.
LIA Queensland president Gavin Gyles says: “It really took some time to make every decision, which is a fantastic reflection on the quality of all who took part.”
Guest speaker Kellie Northwood, executive director of Two Sides Australia, gave a speech on why the Australian print industry is ‘anything but dead’ encouraged guests to ‘push to extend the boundaries of what can be achieved with print’.
About 120 printers attended the event in Brisbane, including employers and candidates from large Brisbane-based companies and smaller regional printers well represented.
The LIA Queensland Graduate of the Year Awards were sponsored by Heidelberg.
The full list of winners and finalists:
LIA-Heidelberg Graduate of the Year Award
Sarah Janson – HPD Creative
Jonathon Fox – Inprint ( Winner )
David Pyers – Designed to Stick
Scott Day – Inprint ( Runner Up )
Stage 1 Award:
Holly Engelmann – BB Print
Walter Bailey – Coastal Coasters
Bradley McAulliffe – Print Approach (Runner Up)
Sarah Kennedy – Colorcorp (Winner)
Stage 2 Award:
Biannca Engelmann – BB Print
Jeremy Nichol – Nichol’s Printing
Kirsten Robinson – LEP Colour Printers
Brendan Moore – CPX (Runner Up)
Shea Agnew – Visy Can (Winner)
Stage 3 Award
Liam Afamasaga – Fergies Print & Mail
Murray Webster – Coaster Kings
Keith McInnes – Fergies Print & Mail
Tomas Ujhelyi – Platypus Graphics ( Runner Up )
Jayd Kiely – APN Print (Winner)
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