The press manufacturer, supported by the BPIF, Sappi and X-Rite, is rallying apprentices to compete at upcoming event, The Skills Show.

Organised by WorldSkills, the 15-17 November show, which takes place at the Birmingham NEC, will promote the best in vocational training.

Apprentices are encouraged to submit their entries at www.uk.heidelberg.com by 14 September, with heats commencing at the press manufacturer's Brentford headquarters on 22 September.

Print will form part of the event as a 'taster skill' to assess the level of demand from each sector and Heidelberg UK marketing director Mark Hogan said it is time for the sector to "stand up and be counted".

He said: "With this national event we plan to show just how great our top apprentices are and also how exciting and rewarding a career in printing can be.

"The finalists will be put through their paces at a venue which will feature apprentices from many other fields as well. It will be a prestigious win for the companies whose apprentices reach the final."

Heidelberg is supplying a Speedmaster SX 52-5 five-colour press, a Polar 78 guillotine and Saphira inks for the event. Sappi is supplying paper and X-Rite is offering its Easy Track spectrophotometers.

The BPIF is encouraging entries from its members and will help judge on the independent panel of industry experts.

Competitors entering the event will be expected to be able to run a five-colour offset litho printing press and guillotine and to have an understanding of consumables.

This includes mixing a special to a defined Pantone colour and to be able to measure and monitor colour.

According to Hogan, successful participation by UK apprentices would put the sector in good stead to secure representation at the 43rd WorldSkills competition in São Paulo, Brazil.

"The Skills Show will be a competition in its own right but our hope is that with this new event we will make the first step to ensuring that the UK print industry has a talented young person competing against the rest of the world, with luck in time for 2013 but certainly by Sao Paulo 2015," said Hogan.