By Wayne Robinson
Tainui Press Design and Print graphic designer and digital printer Vanessa Hooton has been named the New Zealand Print Industry Apprentice of the Year.
Hearing her name read out during the online Pride In Print Awards evening while alongside family, friends, and work colleagues was a “surreal” experience, Hooton said.
We were all in the staff room watching it, I was shaking – it was insane, there were many tears and yahooing,” she said.
“First and foremost, I thank Dale and Sheryl Ertel at Tainui Press for giving me the opportunity. I was a 16-year-old coming out of school and they saw some potential in me and hired me, and I have never looked back since then. It was a huge chance they took and I’m really grateful for that.
“I am also really thankful for my high school college gateway teacher, I didn’t know what I wanted to do and she pushed me in that direction, and Competenz Training Advisor Grant Alsop, he was always supportive and happy to answer any of my questions.
“Also, the staff that I’ve worked with over the years – we bounce ideas off each other and grow with each other.”
Hooton, who was also named PrintNZ Digital Apprentice of the Year, says she has found the entire apprenticeship experience rewarding.
“I gave my family a bit of a tour of the factory and caught myself babbling away about processes, it’s when you do that you stop and think ‘Wow, I’ve actually learnt so much more than I realise. It is such a cool thing and a wonderful industry to be a part of.”
Hooton said she enjoys working within the small Matamata-based business.
“My favourite aspect probably is seeing the whole process come to life and seeing a happy customer leaving with a product that met their specifications and exceeded their expectations.”
Looking forward to continuing to advance within the firm and further broadening her horizons, Hooton says she is keen to soon commence the Diploma in Print Management.
His firm’s fourth Apprentice of the Year finalist and second winner, Ertel describes Hooton as an “absolute delight”. “She is an exceptional young lady,” he said.
“We were in the tea room and we all roared at the same time. It was a real treat to have her family with us – when you see parents with their eyes glistening with pride, that really is pretty cool.”
A former sheetfed apprentice himself, Ertel says he strives to follow the example of his own first trainer who sought to “train you to be better than I am”.
“It is easy to teach kids if they are willing to learn. Maybe I can spot potential, or I see a passion maybe that we can work with and bring the best out of them.
“I get as much of a thrill out of seeing these people change, grow and all sorts of things. It is great to see them mature.”
Following the announcement of Hooton’s win, Ertel says he also promptly contacted his firm’s first Apprentice of the Year winner of almost two decades ago, Jackie O’Reilly (nee Tye).
“I said to her that she set a standard that the others have tried to match.”
Maintaining a strong passion for the industry and training, Ertel says he has “total admiration” for the role PrintNZ plays in acknowledging those in training – “they do it tremendously”.
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Reprinted with permission from www.print21.com.au
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