OFPANZ Apprentice of the Year 2009
The OFPANZ Apprentice of the Year 2009 was announced at its annual conference in Wellington recently. Amelia Norton, from Kolorful Kanvas Limited in Christchurch, was the big winner on the gala night and received the award from MITO Chair Peter Hancock.
Amelia’s all-round ability and attitude in the workplace helped her secure the prestigious title, but her superior design and technical skills were clearly evident in her award-winning project entry – a nifty navy-blue travel bag.
Contestants were required to design and make a bag of their own choice. Apart from a specific brief regarding size, they were free to come up with their own creation.
Like all best inventions, Amelia designed her bag after finding none available to meet her needs when travelling. She wanted one hold-all bag "small enough to wear over your shoulder, yet big enough to hold everything." Hairdryer included!
Amelia’s article stood out because of its high-quality finish and overall appearance, down to stitching the name of her bag – ‘Embrace’ - something very difficult to do, according to one of the judges. Amelia named her bag in honour of her cousin’s beauty business, to which she intends to donate the bag.
Amelia first came to Kolorful Kanvas Limited on a school work experience two years ago. She picked up the work quickly and immediately impressed her employer with her ‘hands-on’ manner. She is part of a small workplace of eight staff making goods from PVC and canvas. She signed up with MITO to gain a National Certificate in Canvas Fabrication (L3) (Modern Apprentice) and will complete her apprenticeship at the end of this year.
Amelia admits to a longstanding interest in fashion design, especially textiles.
And with her practical, down-to-earth manner, Kolorful Kanvas seems the ideal environment to develop her artistic talent and improve her skills. The Waltham company specialises in making quality industrial textiles such as shade sails, screens customised caravan awnings, canopies and much more.
With her award-winning skills in industrial textile design Amelia is well placed for a bright future.
The OFPANZ Apprentice of the Year is selected from the Tier 2 category – completed or almost-completed apprentices.
Highly Commended in Tier 2 were Timothy Scott from Covermarq Limited in Dunedin, and David MacKay from Peter M May Limited in Ashburton.
The Tier 1 category is designed for new apprentices from sign-on to 15 months. They were given a set piece to manufacture, designed to show their ability to follow instructions and demonstrate workmanship capabilities. This year’s entrants were required to make a duffel bag.
The Tier 1 OFPANZ Apprentice Award went to Brendon Lack from Douglas Auto and Marine Upholstery (2008) Limited in Hastings.
Highly commended in Tier 1 was Aurora Jordan from Baytex Manufacturing Company Limited in Mount Maunganui.
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