Print charity names ones to watch

The charity honoured 91 winners, including six from Yorkshire, at its flagship Print Futures Awards, held at the House of Lords.

The awards, which were created to help 18 to 30-year-olds hoping to establish a career in the creative and digital industries, attracted more than 300 applications this year. The Printing Charity said it was proud that 70 per cent of this year’s winners were female.

Neil Lovell, chief executive of The Printing Charity, said: “People in the sector are always talking about needing to bring in new talent and showing how diverse it is and these Awards help to support that call for action.

“These 91 young people from every area of the sector are a really great sign.”

Of the 91 winners, six were from Yorkshire with Laura Andrew, Eve Hawksworth, Ayden Kirk, Jennifer Miller, Jessica Owen and Otis Robinson all securing themselves a grant of up to £1,500 to help pay for costs associated with training.

Ms Andrew, 23, an editorial apprentice at Johnston Press, parent company of The Yorkshire Post, said: “I’m very grateful for this apprenticeship and the experience and portfolio it has given me, I hope that it leads me to a permanent position in the newspaper industry.”

Otis Robinson is currently studying for an MSc Journalism Degree at Leeds Beckett. He applied for the awards as he feels it is hard to find a journalism career outside of London and hoped to make contacts at the event.

Mr Robinson said: “It’s great to see a charity putting funding into young, Northern talent because it gives us an opportunity that we wouldn’t normally find.

“The funding has allowed me to continue studying my masters and buy proper equipment that will help my academic and journalistic career.”

Tributes were paid to Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde who died earlier this year.

Baroness Dean had previously hosted the Print Futures Awards several times and was a big supporter of young people in the print industry.