Izelda Lala | Business Administrator apprenticeship
Distinction
End-point assessment, Business Administrator apprenticeship, May 2026
Winner
Kathy Woodward Award for Learning 2026, presented at the House of Lords
Third place
Intergraf Young Talent Award 2026, against entrants from across Europe
Starting out in print
Izelda joined Baker Labels two years ago and chose the apprenticeship route into the industry,
learning the job while working in it rather than studying full time. In May 2026 she completed
her Business Administrator apprenticeship with a Distinction — the highest grade available
at end-point assessment.
Two years in, she describes print as an industry with more going on beneath the surface than she
expected: a constant run of new technology to keep up with, the challenge of balancing
sustainability against consistency of output, and a public perception of print that doesn’t
always match the reality. There is, as she puts it, always another angle to consider.
“Opportunities like this prove that there are many pathways to building a career.”
Izelda Lala
The Kathy Woodward Award for Learning 2026
Izelda was named this year’s winner of the Kathy Woodward Award for Learning and
invited to the House of Lords to receive it. The award carries a £1,000 grant towards
further study, and recognises a young person in the print, packaging and graphic
communication industry who has shown outstanding commitment to their own learning.
She is putting the grant towards a certificate in packaging with the Institute of Materials,
Minerals and Mining (IOM3), to build on her understanding of material development.
Third in Europe at the Intergraf Young Talent Awards
Izelda also took third place in the Intergraf Young Talent Award 2026, representing the
United Kingdom against entrants from across Europe. This year’s entrants were asked how
print can build stronger emotional engagement, trust and customer experience in a
hyper-personalised, increasingly digital world.
The winning submissions covered personalised print, intelligent packaging, premium
publishing and the role of trusted physical media in future communication.
The employer
Baker Labels
Baker Labels was named Employer of the Year at the BPIF Training Awards in November 2025, a few
months before Izelda completed her apprenticeship. Results like hers rarely happen in isolation
— they come from employers who give apprentices real responsibility and the time to learn
properly alongside it.
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