Jac Appleton, Online Coatings Area Supervisor at Pilkington, is inspiring his colleagues with his success. Jac worked for Pilkington for 10 years before starting his Level 3 Management qualification to add to his skill set. Jac started as Online Coatings Team Leader at the beginning of his Apprenticeship, and after making such great progress he was promoted to Surface Coatings Manager before his Apprenticeship was even completed!
Jac explained: “About half way through the Apprenticeship, I gained a promotion to Online Coatings Area Supervisor, which means I now manage the whole coatings operation which was a great point for me in my career.
“I now look after four sets of six personnel in the coatings department. I create all the settings, procedures and risk assessment for the team to follow and ensure the plant runs correctly. I also report back to higher management on the actual performance of the plant. My role lets me look at ways to improve our processes and reduce cost per tonne too.”
On completing his Level 3 Management qualification, Jac achieved a Distinction – a fantastic result which has spurred him on to further advance his career.
Sam Cooke, Greengate Operations Manager at Pilkington commented: “Jac has always demonstrated fantastic capabilities, coupled with an unusually high commitment to his personal development. His successes throughout the completion of his Level 3 Management qualification have been clear demonstrations of this. The determination, intelligence and drive shown are typical of him.
“He has successfully balanced the demands of his studies, alongside progression in his career. It’s clear to me that, rather than one detracting from the other, they’ve actually proven to be complementary. Already a very impressive employee, destined for promotion, he has taken the best from this course, and used it with immediate effect.”
Jac trained with St Helens Chamber Business School to help build on his skills and advance his career, supported by the Management training team.
Jac commented: “I thought the training was good. The help I got from Lee Johnson and the rest of the tutors at the Chamber was really helpful – no question was too small or large and they were always willing to help guide me through my work.
“The discussions we had were great, I got a lot of help and guidance from the team and towards the end of the qualification it all became second nature, so it was a good process from start to finish.”
Towards the end of Jac’s management qualification, Coronavirus restrictions meant that training was delivered remotely – a transition which didn’t impact Jac’s exemplary performance.
Jac added: “My final discussions we’re over the phone, I also did a mock interview to get me ready for the final examination. This was all done remotely, including training for the test.
“The mock training set me up well because it helped me understand the way the questions might come across – I would have prepared differently without that help, so even though some training was remote it worked well and was still really helpful in getting me prepared.”
Jac has impressed his colleagues and management with his progress, and has even inspired some of them to look into developing their skills.
Jac explained: “I would recommend Apprenticeship training to anyone who is looking to build on their skills, I’ve already recommended the training to a couple of people in the team who have seen how well the training has worked for me.”
Sam added: “Jac should be congratulated for his achievements, both in the receipt of a ‘distinction’, but also his parallel progression within the workplace. I’m constantly and repeatedly impressed by Jac, and sincerely excited to work with him in the future, and discovering how far his potential will take him!”
St Helens Chamber Business School have a wide range of qualifications available for anyone looking to build on their skills or upskill their employees. We can help employers to access any funding available, or use your Apprenticeship Levy to upskill your workforce and help your staff get their qualifications up to date.
If you’d like to find out more about Apprenticeships for employees, call our Workforce Development team on 01744 742333 or email workforce@sthelenschamber.com
