Above: Heidelberg ANZ’s managing director, Savas Mystakidis

Heidelberg ANZ’s managing director, Savas Mystakidis, announces Heidelberg will continue its 52-year association as the sponsor of the LIA Graduate of the Year Awards.

Mystakidis told ProPack at the LIA NSW presentation in Sydney that he was very pleased to continue sponsoring the award that was presented this year to Robert Neale from WestRock Packaging in Sydney.

The LIA Heidelberg Graduate of the Year Award is one of the longest-running sponsorships in the local printing industry, dating back to 1972, when it was sponsored by Seligson and Clare, the then Heidelberg agents in Australia.

The LIA Heidelberg Graduate of the Year Award is presented annually in each state at special award presentation dinners.

The winning graduate is selected by a highly qualified panel of LIA members and are nominated by TAFE teaching staff as the best students covering the various printing trades and certifications.

“It is a pleasure to sponsor the LIA Graduate of the Year awards. This is the future of our industry and we are more than happy to assist with nurturing the new talent coming forward,” Mystakidis told ProPack.

“As we all start to retire in the next five to ten years, we need the next generation to come through otherwise there will be no industry. I applaud the employers as well as the apprentices who continue to bring them on board and see them through their management and Robert Neale could become the next manager of WestRock.

“I never thought I would end up where I am after 30 years when I started as a young cadet coming through and I am living proof of that,” Mystakidis said.

Every two years, Heidelberg funds the airfares and accommodation of the winning state graduates to the LIA’s Biennial conference. There, apart from active participation in the conference program, they are individually interviewed by a national judging panel of eminent industry leaders and a winner is selected to receive the Visual Connections – LIA National Graduate Scholarship Prize.

A condition of acceptance of the Visual Connections—LIA National Graduate Scholarship Prize is that the money must be used to further the winner’s education. The announcement of the winner and the presentation of the Prize are the highlights of the conference gala dinner.

There are usually ten graduates vying for the $15,000 prize, comprising the winning state graduates from the current and previous year. They are hosted by major printing companies, who provide informative plant tours and hospitality; they get to know each other and, in some cases, form lasting friendships.