Print Week Awards 2011

2010 Winner

Phil Metcalf, Polestar Petty

Commended
Michael Deegan, Polestar Chantry
Gemma Gibbs, Pindar

It will come as no surprise that every year, the PrintWeek Trainee of the Year is guaranteed the single biggest cheer of the night. There's no doubt that the industry is facing the ticking time-bomb of an aging workforce, so this award's goal is simple: to honour the best trainees in the industry and prove that a passion for print is something to be celebrated and nurtured.

Note: entry into the Trainee of the Year category is free

The Heidelberg bursary of £2,000 is open to any trainee, including full- or part-time employees or students, undertaking any form of print-related qualification, from an in-house apprenticeship or NVQ to a degree. There is no limit to the number of trainees/students any college or employer may nominate, and each entry is free. Entries should be submitted by a lecturer or the trainee's employer, and should include a brief report (up to 500 words) from the nominating lecturer/employer on why each the trainee has been nominated, together with examples of his or her coursework and a 500-word declaration from the trainee supporting their entry.

The year under review is September 2010 to the end of June 2011, so the trainee must have been involved in some form or training or career development during this time. Trainees on in-house apprenticeships may enter even if there is no officially recognised qualification at the end of the apprenticeship,

1 A company or college may enter as many trainees as they wish.

2 The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

 3 All trainees must be UK residents.

 4 Trainees must be over 16 years of age, but there is no upper age limit.

 5 The trainee's employer must have been consistently trading solvently since 1 July 2009.

 6 Confidentiality: all material will remain confidential to the judges, but winning case studies may be written up and published in PrintWeek based on the material provided. Entrants may mark various sensitive parts of their entry, such as information contained in their balance sheet and profit-and-loss account as ‘Not for Publication’.

 7 Trainee must include a 500-word submission by the lecturer or employer detailing why they should be considered. Samples of their work/course work (copies are acceptable) must also be included, and any other supporting documentation that the candidate or lecturer/employer feels may be relevant (for example recommendations from employer/ work placement). Any submission without this supporting evidence will be disqualified. Please pay special attention to the 500-word trainee summary requested here as this helps the judges to consider your entry.

8 Entry is free.

9 Trainees, if shortlisted, and their lecturer or line manager must be available to attend the Awards ceremony as Heidelberg’s guest on the 17 October.

If the trainee is on an in-house apprenticeship, with no officially recognised qualification at the end, the employer or apprentice should supply as much information as is possible on the structure of the training to make it as clear to the judges that the on-the-job training provided is of a suitably high standard.

Please supply as much documentary evidence as possible, such as copies of coursework, lecturer/manager/mentor reports or any thing else that you feel supports the entry. Please note that we will return the entry if requested.

As well as highlighting the trainee's achievements in the review period (from September 2010 to June 2011), the two 500-word summaries can be used, if applicable, to detail some of the challenges the trainee overcame to develop their career in print.

Remember, the judges are looking for a real passion for print from an individual keen to build or continue to develop a career in the industry – so make sure your entry does justice to you.

• Three copies of the competed entry form
• 500-word summary from lecturer or employer/line manager
• 500-word summary from trainee
• Detailed evidence of achievements