Charity gives sector's future a helping hand

The charity awarded grants of up to £1,500 to help fund costs associated with relevant training courses for a career in printing, publishing or graphic arts through its Print Futures Awards.

In total 50 young people were given bursaries this year, which were presented to them at a special ceremony hosted by Baroness Dean at the House of Lords. The figure broke last year’s record, when 37 young people benefited from the scheme. Ten of the winners out of the 50 were from Yorkshire.

Neil Lovell, The Printing Charity’s chief executive and secretary, called on the industry to do more to encourage young people into the industry.

He said: “We are proud of the Print Futures Awards and their continued growth. I believe that both the charity and the sector have more to do to encourage young talent.

“Networking and connections are vital. We are setting up an Alumni programme for this year’s and previous winners. The aim is to stay connected with them, introduce them to industry contacts and enable them to hear from leading thinkers in the sector.”

Charlotte Baker, Fatima Banglawala, Flora Carr, Dominic Cazaux, Kennedy Grainger, Esmé Hager-Eichhorn, Annika Jones, Natasha Pilling, Katy Welsh and James Jessiman were all winners from the region.

Ms Jones, who is studying for a BA in Journalism at Leeds Beckett University, said: “Print should remain the gold standard of publishing, but this can only be maintained if it is embraced by younger generations. Through creativity, imagination, and high quality product, we can show the true value of physical media and its enduring strength in a digital world.”

Ms Welsh, studying printed textiles and surface pattern design at the Leeds College of Art, will use the grant to enable her to experiment with paper types currently beyond her budget.

Lord Black of Brentwood, executive director of the Telegraph Media Group and vice president of The Printing Charity, said: “Printing and publishing are at the heart of the creative industry and we thank The Printing Charity for its work providing pathways for young people into these creative roles.”