LEADERSHIP: NPA's Apprenticeship Program has distinguished itself with the launch of our new GTO Training Room, an outstanding new on-site resource for NPA's print apprentices. The program is well established with six apprentices working in Print Hall and a further three working in Pre-Production. The room is named after the press that it houses: the Heidelberg GTO 52.
Andrew Reynolds, NPA’s Technical Training Specialist who has been the driver of establishment of this new capability within our business, officially cut the ribbon to open the facility, with the event being attended by the ELT, Print Hall Leadership team, the apprentices and the HR team.
Training at the Source: NPA’s Technical Training Specialist Andrew Reynolds says the GTO Training Room will enable NPA’s apprentices to experience live print training on-site without impacting the main production lines, which is a common problem for many print operations trying to give their apprentices training time of the presses.
"When I started on my very first day, I saw the Heidelberg GTO 52 press on the floor and I immediately said ‘We cannot lose this press!’ It's a great use of older equipment that is still absolutely perfect for training apprentices learning basic lithographic printing and machine maintenance,” recalls Andrew.
Lithographic printing is also known as offset printing, where an inked image from a plate is transferred to a blanket cylinder before being printed on a paper or polymer sheet.
Another bonus of this initiative is that it provides a use for a range of materials that NPA considers ‘dead stock’ for our main production line, but can be used as training material, such as 80 reams of schilling paper that is currently in stock. This can be used to print pallet tags, header sheets, or internal stationery
“The addition of an offline print training facility on-site is pretty unique in Australia and as an apprentice, you couldn’t find a better place to learn the craft. When I was growing up learning to print, there could be dozens of these Heidelberg presses inside a printing plant, lined up like little robots,” says Dean McGrath, our Chief Technical Officer. “I want to congratulate Andrew for all the effort he has put into making this a reality for our apprentices – it’s a great asset for the business.”
The apprentices will train in pairs, enabling entry-level practice on a lithographic press without impacting mainstream production. Further, being an old press, the Heidelberg GTO52 is mechanical and therefore manual in nature which provides far greater learning opportunities on the basics of printing compared to more modern presses which are far more automated.
“I’m in my third year of training and now being able to run the press (the OptiNota H which applies foil to the polymer banknote sheet). The program has been really informative and obviously there’s so much on the job learning with the support of security printers on my team,” says Print Apprentice Lina Tanaka.
Lina’s Print Hall colleague, Nick Acevski has been in the industry for almost 10 years and is also in the third year of his apprenticeship.
“We go to Holmesglen TAFE (located in Melbourne’s east) for three days of study every quarter which is really good, but in working at NPA there’s printing equipment here that you cannot find anywhere else in Australia, so we are able to quickly see the theory of what we’re studying put into action on a daily basis,” says Nick.
In connecting to some of the larger issues and challenges going on in the world, Andrew also makes the point that the GTO Training Room is making a contribution to NPA’s Sustainability Strategy.
"There's a great sustainability theme in this initiative as well,” says Andrew. "By re-using the machines and providing a constructive use for obsolete or end of line materials, we’re really extending the life of our assets and maximising the use of available materials to support our people.”
As colleagues look on, Andrew Reynolds cuts the ribbon to officially open the GTO Training Room with the help of NPA Print Apprentices Lina Tanaka and Nick Acevski.