Printing Charity celebrates print’s Rising Stars at House of Lords

The Printing Charity has recognised 82 young professionals from across the print, paper, packaging and publishing sectors at its annual Rising Star Awards celebration, held at the House of Lords.

Hosted by the charity’s President Emeritus, Lord Black of Brentwood, the event recognised winners who will share more than £111,000 in funding to support professional development through 155 training courses, covering subjects including vehicle wrapping, UX, textile printing, sustainability, AI, leadership and project management.

Speaking at the event, Printing Charity CEO Neil Lovell said the awards continue to demonstrate both the quality of young talent entering the industry and the sector’s commitment to supporting it.

“The Rising Stars are just such a fantastic event for us at the Printing Charity,” he said. “Every year we get together the brightest stars in our sector and celebrate them. They receive an award, which is financial support to enable training and development.

“This year we’ve had 82 winners, which is just phenomenal. It shows just how good this sector is at supporting young people. And the more young people that come into it, the better.”

Lord Black of Brentwood highlighted the wider significance of the awards.

“It’s great to be here at the Printing Charity event because this is about the future of the printing industry,” said Baron Black. “With so much talent here this evening, and so many opportunities, The Printing Charity is opening the doors to that. Seeing the energy and enthusiasm among these young people and the role they’re going to play in the creative industries going forward is fantastic.”

Among the winners was Aaron Leishman, process design and development at Bluetree Group, who said the funding would help him continue building his career.

“I’m really grateful to have won this award today. It’s an amazing charity, especially for the print industry. It gives us so many opportunities. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to put this money towards developing my career and really driving the print industry forward.”

Melissa Oakley, account executive at Paragon, described the recognition as particularly meaningful.

“It’s an incredible achievement. I’m really proud of myself and I feel very grateful. As a working mother, I just think this is a great opportunity to see what I can do.”