2022 Rising Stars developing practical skills

With a foundation degree in Graphic Design from Sheffield Hallam University, Lauren started her journey as a junior for a small agency, developing her skills and portfolio. After being furloughed, Lauren needed to ensure she stood out from the crowd when applying for new jobs. She attached her CV and Portfolio to a roller banner on which she printed herself, with the tagline ‘Imagine what it is like to work with me.’ This received international press coverage from Yahoo and The Metro, and she found herself a role at Bluetree Group, where she is now a Senior Graphic Designer. She will be using her Award for a photography course to help bring products to life.

While studying a Level 3 Electrical course, Spencer applied for a tour of Harmsworth Printing and was immediately hooked. Intrigued by the complex machines and how they worked, he accepted an Apprentice Engineer position with Harmsworth, where he also studying his Higher National Certificate. Spencer will use his funding for a laptop to help him on his journey to becoming a fully qualified engineer in Print.

Elsie’s passion for the environment has been embedded throughout her academic and professional career. She holds a degree in Environmental Geography from the University of York, where she completed a placement with Schumacher North working on their Zero Carbon Yorkshire campaign. Now Sustainability Manager at Bluetree Group, Elsie is working to create and deliver Bluetree’s sustainability strategy, including their target to be Net-Zero by 2030. She will use her award to partially fund the IEMA Certificate of Environmental Management training to facilitate her journey to becoming a Practitioner of Environmental Management and Assessment.   

A keen interest in cars and motorsports fuelled Joe’s passion for mechanical engineering. Having studied engineering at Sixth Form, Joe is now an apprentice technician at Harmsworth Printing. Joe will spend his award on a toolkit to take his career into fifth gear and start his journey to becoming a fully qualified engineer. 

Émilie joined Penguin Random House in the summer of 2019 after completing an MA in Publishing. As part of her role as Production Controller on the children’s Team at PRH, she has been instrumental in phasing out the use of glitter on their children’s titles alongside sourcing alternatives for book finishings. Alongside her production role, Émilie is also Co-Chair of The Green Team, an employee network encouraging colleagues to be mindful of their environmental impact.  Keen to influence change from a more senior role, Émilie wants to stay in Production and will be embarking on an eight–week course focused on The Future of Sustainable Business. 

Whilst studying to become an engineer, Ben was offered the chance to tour the printing plant at Harmsworth Printing, where he became instantly fascinated. Knowing his career lay in print, he took an apprenticeship position with Harmsworth and is currently in his second year. A keen problem-solver and solution-finder, Ben sees himself as being a fully qualified engineer in the future and will be using his Award towards an HND qualification.  

Sam was new to the packaging industry, having graduated with a degree in fine art in 2018. Whilst training as an accountant after university, he changed careers and now works with ActionPoint Packaging as a Packaging and Graphic Designer. He finds magic in seeing things transform from a simple sketch or thought through to the physical product being on supermarket shelves. Keen to expand his packaging knowledge, Sam will be using his award to complete a PIABC Level 3 Certificate in Packaging Technology. 

Fran knew that university wasn’t the right path for her and instead entered the business world as a receptionist for Mars. After this role, Fran joined Adare SEC as a Management Accountant, where she is studying for a CIMA qualification. Fran has contributed to exciting and complex projects at Adare including Covid Passports and NHS prescription pads. She aims to move into a more senior role where she can influence decisions and continue to uphold the industry.  

After a successful career in the food industry running a busy team of ten, the pandemic initiated a bold career move for Jack. An opportunity came up at Amberley Labels that he could not pass up. Now working in Quality Assurance and Customer Service, Jack is driven by the need for exceptional quality across all aspects of running a business. Exceedingly passionate about his role in Print, he sees himself in a management role in future and will be taking courses to expand his knowledge and develop his business skills.  

Oliver has always held an interest in all things technical since he started building PCs in his spare time. Turning his hobby into academic studies, Oliver gained a Level 3 BTECH in IT and joined Bluetree Group as an apprentice Digital Press Assistant. Four years later, he has not looked back, and with funding from the award is well on his way to becoming a full–time Maintenance Engineer. 

With a background in audio and radio, Morven’s love of journalism and broadcasting stemmed from a trip to Clarkson University in New York whilst studying. Now an Audio Producer at DC Thomson, she has widened her skillset by working on a range of dynamic projects, from developing a daily morning news briefing audio project to producing podcasts on topics from sport to politics. Morven will be spending her Award on a Crafting Compelling Content course to help her design creative messages and content to connect with her audience.