awards  GAMAA 
Now in its fifth year, the GAMAA Leadership Programme welcomes four new scholars to the scholarship intake for 2007; David Constable - Fresh Design, Nathan Kable - Rawson Graphics, Stephen McRobert - NSW Department of Lands and Jacob Galea - BP Australia. On announcing the successful applicants, GAMAA president, Alastair Hadley said the broad mix of candidates this year demonstrated the reach of the GAMAA programme.

“In the past five years the GAMAA Leadership Programme has steadily developed a reputation that has reached beyond the traditional print industry boundaries to embrace other sectors in which print and graphics communications are integral components. On behalf of the GAMAA members I welcome the new students and look forward to the continued development of leadership skills for the advancement of our industry.”

The GAMAA Leadership Programme provides for a limited number of scholarships each year. To date 28 scholarships have been awarded including 24 full scholarships and four part scholarships.

Fundamental to the GAMAA Leadership Programme are the three-day residential workshops which are compulsory for scholarship recipients, and also open to the industry in general. The workshops focus on specific topics with this year’s programme featuring “Building High Performing Teams” May 3 – 5 in Melbourne and “Strategic Customer Focus” August 30 – September 1 2007 in Sydney.

On notification of their scholarships, recipients had the following comments:

David Constable: “Receiving the scholarship was a real pleasure after a taxing year balancing the demands of my job and commencement of the Masters of Marketing at Monash University. I am excited by the opportunity to network with people directly involved in the graphic arts and print industry. To share issues and see how others are dealing with changes offers a unique opportunity to develop practical plans relating to my business.

"This program also offers the chance to create thought leadership beyond the day to day operational concerns. It’s gratifying to see a forum like this be available to people who will (hopefully) be able to be at the head of change in the future. I look forward to the engagement and opportunities to develop the industry in challenging times.”

Stephen McRobert: “Having attended the last GAMAA Leadership Programme Workshop in 2006, I was able to mix with past and present scholars and get a feel for what GAMAA is offering industry. I was impressed with the way GAMAA approaches the issues that are relevant to industry and their dedicated commitment to developing innovative leaders. I have already applied much of what I learned at the workshop in the workplace with great success. Through this experience I had no hesitation in applying for the 2007 scholarship program and was delighted when informed that I had been successful.

"I aim to use this opportunity not only for my own self development, but also the development of the production unit I manage as we deal with significant changes in technology and production processes. I hope that my experiences and knowledge gained throughout the programme will assist me and my management team in making the right decisions and lead to a successful future for Graphic Services.”

Jacob Galea: “It is an honour to be chosen as a 2007 GAMAA scholar. This recognition means a lot to me, both personally and for my future growth and development within the print industry. I would like to thank GAMAA for running such a prestigious scholarship which enables tomorrow’s print leaders the chance to begin the journey of a lifetime.”

For further information about the GAMAA Leadership Programme contact Karen Goldsmith, GAMAA manager on or GAMAA’s education manager, Samantha Crock on