Elena Dury, W T Johnson & Sons
I work at W T Johnson and Sons who are a textile finishing company. My current role within the company is to operate the ‘Tenter’ machine. It is one of the largest and most skilled machines within the company. I have previously worked in different departments around the mill doing jobs such as ‘batching’ and running the ‘blow in grease’ machine. The first apprenticeship i undertook was Level 2 Apprenticeship in Manufacturing Textile Products. On completion of that I progressed on to the Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship in Manufacturing Textile Products.
The apprenticeship programme has made a massive positive impact on me, more than I could have imagined when I first signed up!
I feel that I have been much more successful in my career so far than my GCSE results would have suggested thanks to the apprenticeship programme. The apprenticeship programme has shown me that I can still be successful and have a career that I enjoy, despite not gaining any qualifications in school or college. I have achieved so much so far and I have achieved things I never thought
Through the technical certificate part of my qualification I feel that I have gained a vast knowledge of not only my job and what my company does but also a great understanding of the industry as a whole. This information has really helped my in my own workplace and gives me a great insight into what happens to the fabric before and after I have worked with it.
After finishing my initial Level 2 Apprenticeship in Manufacturing Textile Products, my managers were really impressed with the work I had done and the help/skills I could offer to the company. I was offered a permanent position there and was also asked if I would like to start the next level qualification which I gladly and excitedly accepted. My employment within the company and level 3 apprenticeship is going brilliantly! I really enjoy my job, which is something I didn’t think I would ever be able to say!
When I finish my level 3 qualification, I would really like to sign up for the next level qualification. My ultimate goal when finishing my training would be to progress within the company to higher roles, maybe become a supervisor for example.
I definitely plan to do more training in the future, it is my goal to work my way through all the apprenticeships right up to the top level!
