Pre-press apprentice Jay Brown from Perth disability print enterprise Westcare has been nominated for the Heidelberg Graduate of the Year Award for Western Australia.

Brown started his apprentice tenure at Westcare’s Nedlands facility after completing a Certificate III in Printing and Graphic Arts through TAFE South Australia. He is now in the process on completing his Certificate IV.

According to Westcare, to be nominated as a candidate for the LIA Graduate of the Year is ‘an honour for both the nominee and their employer’.

The awards are held every year in each state of Australia, with the objective to acknowledge apprentice achievements and provide an incentive for them to further their skills and practice within the print industry.

This year’s winning Graduate of the Year’s in each state will then be in the running for the National Graduate of the Year Award, which is held biannually.

As a finalist 2016 Western Australia Graduate of the Year, Brown is invited to attend the Printing Industries Association Craftsmanship Awards, which will be held this November at the Rendezvous Hotel in Scarborough, WA. 

Brown’s achievement is particularly significant to Westcare after the group was embroiled in an unfortunate court case last year involving the mistreatment of disabled employees by a member of the senior management team who has since left the company. 

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