Case Studies

The following case studies show of the type of work employees in glass sector employment complete.

Apprenticeships, provided by Proskills and other training organisation, are supported and valued by many glass sector employers', who see them as an excellent way to develop skills and knowledge through hands on experience. However although each of the employees in these case studies have chosen the Glass Apprenticeships route, it is important to understand this is not the only route to a successful glass sector career.

Helen Chick - Holy Well Glass

Helen ChickHelen works as a Specialist Conserver at Holy Well Glass, involved in the restoration of stain glass at many of the great churches, cathedrals and national trust properties across the UK. A university graduate with an Art Degree, Helen decided to go the vocational route to combine her artistic flair with the craft skills necessary to be competent in her work. Helen operates in a specialist area and had to work patiently with her boss to match the work she does to a Level 3 NVQ qualification. Through hard work and determination Helen succeeded, developing a number of simple guidelines along the way. These guidelines helped Helen match her work to the needs of the NVQ assessors and they can be used by future NVQ applicants working in stained glass.

Steve Clare the owner says 'Helens journal recording of the many day to day experiments, failures and triumphs is excellent and merits publicity in its own right'. Helen loves her job which is exciting, challenging varied and very rewarding.

Andrew Ghader - Wirral Partnership Homes

Andrew Ghader

Andrew is 20 and works as a window and door fabricator for Wirral Partnership Homes. His main responsibilities are: to fabricate windows and doors to the required standards and targets, see that deliveries are dealt with in a timely fashion and monitor existing stock levels, ordering new stock as and when required. Andrew says 'My Apprenticeship has benefited me by giving me the confidence to meet people, such as customers and suppliers and to deal with any requests over the phone. Fellow members of staff often now come to me for advice, regarding certain jobs. Working as a fabricator you need good team work and an appreciation of other people's jobs. It's not just technical learning, I can't emphasise enough how important it is to be able to work well with other people. I am extremely glad that I undertook my Apprenticeship and I can say that it helped me develop professional skills for work and personal skills, which I also use outside of work'.

Paul Oliver - Peter Richards Group Ltd

Paul Oliver

Paul is 22 and works as a fabricator of aluminium curtain walling for the Peter Richards Group Ltd. His main responsibilities are to ensure that products are fabricated to specification on time. He also oversees a number of "younger" staff who have less experience. The Apprenticeship programme demanded that Paul received broad training, across a number of disciplines. These included cutting, prepping, drilling, joining and hanging. This has allowed Paul to develop multiple skills, making him a flexible employee who can fit into a number of different departments, as required. Paul is the first to admit it takes him a bit longer to create a portfolio. He states that where an average person would take 2 hours to complete study work, it would take him 6 hours but this is testament to Paul's commitment to achieve qualifications and better his career prospects. Don’t be put off if you are a bit slow at reading and writing, just stick with it. Learning is important but in our company you learn in many different ways.

Shaun - RAC

I originally applied to work for RAC Auto Windscreens as a Technician, after seeing an advertisement in my local evening paper back in 2003. After successfully completing an interview I spent my first week at our training centre in Chesterfield, learning the basics on how to replace and repair glass. Whilst here I also learnt about health and safety in the work place. For the next 3 weeks I was then based at Peterborough with an RAC Field Trainer, who was also an experienced Technician. He showed me in much more detail how to do windscreens, door glasses and glass repairs. He also taught me how to speak to customers, complete paperwork and again spent some time making sure I understood the importance of following health and safety rules. After this I went back to Leicester fitting centre, where I was allowed to complete jobs on my own; although full support from other Technicians is always available. To read the full story click here.

Pilkington Employee Case Studies

Richard Firth

Richard is 23 and works for Pilkington Glass Homeserve. He is a glazing supervisor, ensuring the work of the glazing teams is completed to the satisfaction of their customers. He also gets involved in emergency callouts, ensuring valuable commercial and domestic properties are quickly secured, within insurance companies' time constraints. Richard started his Advanced Apprenticeship in 2003 but during the learning programme he was found to be suffering from a life-threatening illness. Because of the flexibility of the qualification Richard was still able to successfully complete the Apprenticeship. He is now in remission and has resumed full duties. He has also been promoted to supervisor. His boss Steve Walker comments 'Richard has a very positive attitude and no job seems too difficult for him. For myself, he has literally become my right-hand man'.

Lee Hardman

Lee Hardman

Lee is 21 and successfully completed his advance apprenticeship this year. He works for Pilkington Manufacturing at their Rolled Plant in St.Helens. Lee's principal responsibilities are to oversee the production of flat glass from its raw material through to the finished product ready for distribution to customers. During his time with Pilkington Lee has been able to re-design an existing piece of equipment which improved health and safety and operational efficiencies by reducing:

  1. Downtime
  2. The number of staff required to carry out initial work
  3. Heat exhaustion

Lee gets a buzz from helping the company because he states that by helping the company to achieve their goals he is making a contribution towards safeguarding his job too.

Michael Woodhead

Michael Woodhead

Michael is 22 and works at the Pilkington Float Manufacturing plant in St.Helens. He has successfully completed the Advanced Apprenticeship in Glass Manufacturing and is now part of Pilkington ‘fast track’ development scheme. His training has given him the opportunity to explore many different roles, including:

He has responsibility for monitoring "Lehr" conditions, in relation to the physical condition of glass. Within his time in this section Michael has been heavily involved with the development of an "automatic Lehr" system, which has significantly improved efficiencies.

At the age of 18 Michael had a choice, university or work. Growing up in St.Helens he knew that Pilkington was a massive company and when he saw the opportunity of an Apprenticeship with them, he applied. His time at Pilkington has meant he has been able to continue his education, while earning a living and getting to grips with industry first hand. Michael has recently become an A1 Assessor and is looking to continue studies and start a degree course in the coming years.

Ruby Todd

Ruby Todd

Ruby is Pilkington through and through, having worked in the Cumbernauld branch for more than 28 years. Her Pilkington career began as an Order Entry Junior and from there she has worked her way up through the ranks, including office supervisor to her current position.  Ruby’s main responsibilities include overseeing all the orders that the Cumbernauld branch receives. This entails working out the most competitive price for a product and organising dispatch, to make sure it arrives on time. The majority of customers request units and toughened glass for commercial contract and domestic work and therefore Ruby needs to ensure that the most appropriate glass is available and in large quantities. Orders can range from a home to a large scale commercial development. Customers may also need technical advice and support, which Ruby can provide in abundance. With nearly three decades of Pilkington experience she has amassed extensive knowledge of the products and can cut through specification requests to provide the best products for each application. To read the full story click here.

Deborah Raisbeck

Deborah Raisbeck

Deborah started working at Pilkington back in 1997 after gaining a doctorate in chemistry from UMIST.  She was initially part of the team based at the Pilkington European Technical Centre, the Group’s Research and Development facility in Lathom, Lancashire. She moved to Cowley Hill in 1999 and continued her studies part time gaining an MBA from the Open University.  When Deborah started working on the float line in Cowley Hill, she primarily looked after the production of Pilkington K GlassTM and other glazing coatings. From there Deborah quickly moved to the position of Manufacturing Manager at the site.

According to Deborah, there isn’t an average day at Cowley Hill. It begins at about 7.45am and officially ends at 4.30pm, however, she can often still be on site much later than that. As soon as she arrives, Deborah goes through the float line statistics of the previous day, checking the yield and the efficiencies to see if there have been any problems or if there are any figures that could indicate a problem on the horizon.  At 8.45am, Deborah attends Cowley Hill’s daily production and operations meeting with the works manager Mr Gwyn Jones.   Other attendees at the meeting include the shift supervisor, who reports to Deborah, the engineering team and the manager responsible for the warehouse, as well as the area managers who look after the different parts of the float line. The meeting looks at any issues from the previous day’s production and enables the team to plan the production schedule. To read the full story click here.

Melissa Harvey

Melissa has amassed vast experience within Pilkington UK.  After leaving school in 1997, she started as an office junior at the Nottingham branch.  After a couple of years Melissa transferred to sales, where she gained valuable customer-focused experience.  She worked her way up and took the office manager role in 2005.  After ten years with Pilkington, Melissa has gained extensive knowledge and expertise of the glass industry.  Melissa’s role as office manager is an expansive one and she is a vital member of the team.  She performs a myriad of functions from resolving employee, customer and sales issues on a day-to-day basis to being involved in areas of production, transport and payroll to name a few.  All this as well as organising the odd staff outing.    

Adrian Parker, Nottingham’s general manager says: “Gone are the days when you had one person doing one job.  Our businesses now change at such a pace we need people who can adapt to change and respond to the challenges ahead.  All our employees need to be able to multi-task and here at Nottingham the team of 26 has embraced this.  Melissa being an excellent example to the Nottingham team by encouraging change and benefiting from the opportunities it brings.”  To read the full story please click here.

Ardagh Glass Employee Case Studies

Dean a Systems Engineer

This case study shows the route I have taken in developing both an academic and a ‘hands on’ engineering career. My choices have provided me with almost 10 years experience in engineering and a wide range of valuable qualifications. Recently I’ve gained a First Class Honours Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. However, to get so far has needed a great deal of commitment, hard work and effort.

I started working life for Ardagh glass (formerly Rockware Glass) in March 1998 on a 3 year Advanced Modern Apprenticeship. This provided on the job experience, valuable qualifications and a wage at the same time. I spent the first three months at DETA Engineering Training Centre. Here I studied and learnt basic engineering skills to obtain my NVQ Level 2 in Engineering. Back at Ardagh I gained practical hands-on skills, whilst studying all aspects of both Mechanical and Electrical Engineering maintenance. I then began working towards NVQ Level 3 Engineering, gaining Certificates, for both Mechanical and Electrical backgrounds, because my aim was to become a ‘multi-skilled engineer’. To read the full story click here.

Lisa Elliott - Personnel Assistant

I started work for Ardagh glass (formerly Rockware Glass) as Trainee Administrator on 14th December 1998. Within this position I completed various tasks, which included personnel administration, reception and switchboard duties. These duties helped me develop a good understanding of our business and whilst in this position I also started a Level 2 NVQ in Business Administration.

After a short time in employment the company gave me the opportunity to work within their payroll / personnel department, at our companies head office in Knottingley. This job provided me with a lot more responsibility. After holding this position for 12 months, I was then given the opportunity to cover the job of Training Officer/ Employee Relations Officer on a number of occasions. I enjoyed this challenge greatly and the experience helped me decide where I wanted my career to lead.

At present I am employed as a Personnel Assistant, which involves administration work for part of each week. I also assist the Personnel Department, while developing my knowledge and skills by covering the role of Employee Relations Officer on a weekly basis.

I have now been working here for 8 1/2 years. During this time I have been supported in achieving a number of work based / higher education qualifications. These are shown below:

NVQ II Business Administration
NVQ III Business Administration
NVQ III Customer Service
Certificate in Personnel Practice (CIPD)
Level 6, Certificate in Business Awareness and Advances Professional
Studies (CIPD)

I am now working towards the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Certificate in Leadership and Management and shortly after I expect to complete the Diploma in Personnel Management.

My goal is to gain promotion within the personnel field and I am confident, with the support my employer is providing, I will achieve this.

Lisa – Quality Control Line Inspector

I started work for Ardagh glass Formerly (Rockware Glass) in August 05 and until September 07 I worked as a Cold End Operator whilst studying towards an NVQ Level Two in Glass Processing. During this time I operated glass container packaging equipment and ensured that the containers were packed and labeled correctly in order to meet customer requirements. I have now completed this qualification and I am working towards the Level Three NVQ in Glass Processing. This qualification is mainly connected with management/supervisory jobs. I am keen to complete it as it will help me progress my career.

Since starting work at Ardagh, my knowledge and skills have continued to develop and recently I have been able to take on more responsible jobs. Within this I have occasionally covered shifts for the ‘Cold End Quality Foreman’. I have found this to be a great learning curve, as it is the job I would like to achieve within the company. Within this role I have the responsibility to control and monitor the cold end department to ensure maximum efficiency and achievement of quality standards via effective use of equipment and people.

Since starting work here I have also completed the A1 NVQ Internal Assessor qualification, which enables me to help other employees complete their NVQ qualifications. As well as this, I have also completed a course for ISO 9001/2000, which means I can now work as an internal auditor. Achieving this qualification has provided me with the skills and abilities needed to visit different sites within our company to complete internal audits.  

Recently I had an interview and completed a presentation for the job of ‘Cold End Quality Foreman’ and although I was unsuccessful, the experience gave me a good insight into what the company expects from me and also gave me a chance to show them my capabilities.

Peter – Finished Products Manager

After finishing school I completed an Engineering Apprenticeship and an ONC (Ordinary National Certificate) in Cast Metals Technology whilst employed in the steel industry. I then joined Ardargh Glass in 1986, (then known as Rockware Glass), starting work as a Machine Operator. After a short time, while learning about the craft of glass making, I chose to study a B/TEC Certificate in Glass Processing Technology and I was one of the first students sponsored by my employer to complete an open learning qualification. 

In 1989, having completed my ONC in one third of the usual time, I secured a promotion to the Batch and Furnace Department, working as a Furnaceman. Along with my Certification I received high acclaim from my tutor for my work, which was noted as being of the very highest quality.  As a Furnaceman, I was responsible for completing regular checks on the furnaces and other associated machinery, to making sure they were operating effectively. I also had to complete production log sheets, manage computer controls known as the ‘Melting Conditioning System’ and watch over and control raw material deliveries.

I then decided to start an NEBSM (National Examining Board in Supervisory Management) Certificate in Supervisory Management, as I hoped to gain further promotion to a management position. After completing this I completed a HNC in Electrical Engineering (1995) and ISO 9000 Lead Assessor training (1998) along with Certificates and Diplomas in Management.

During my Further Education, which has all been paid for and fully supported by my employer, I also gained a number of promotions. the first of these was in 1992 to Shift Manager at Worksop. I then transferred across to Doncaster in 1994, securing the position of Inspection and Packaging Manager before starting in my current job as Finished Products Manager in 1996.

Zenith Staybrite Employee Case Studies

Claire - Customer Service Supervisor

After finishing my GCSEs at Hethersett High School I started work here in the year 2000, in an Office Administration role supporting our customer service team. At school I achieved eight GCSEs (4 Grade Cs and 4 grade Ds) and since starting work here I have also completed an NVQ in Administration at Level 2 and an ILM Certificate (ILM = Institute of Leadership and Management). I have also completed a number of in-house training courses with support from my employer. These include: fire marshal, consumer law, asbestos awareness, disability awareness, appraisal training and data protection training.

Our office is a busy environment where the telephones are ringing constantly most of the day. My job requires a friendly nature and a supportive, team working attitude. The skills I use constantly every day are communication skills and organisational skills. It is also useful if you have a calm and patient manner, as some customers come to us needing our help to find solutions to problems. Sometimes those customers can be unhappy and stressed and it is our job to help them and make sure their problems are solved.

Whilst completing my training and learning about my companies products and services my communication skills have continuously improved. During the past seven years my main duties have involved talking to customers over the phone, communicating by letter and holding face to face conversations. I am now employed in a supervisory role and in this role, as well as working with customers I also train our customer service team staff. In my current job I work 37.5 hours a week and I receive 23 days holiday a year (plus Bank Holidays) and I receive an income between £15,000 and £20,000 a year. I enjoy my work and I find our office a friendly place to work, where everyone works hard and supports each other. I am also grateful to my employer for supporting me through my training and helping me develop my skills as this has led to my promotion to a supervisory position.

Martin - Sales Administration Manager

I started work here in 1984 straight after finishing school. At school I completed ‘O’ Levels in maths and English and CSEs in Physics, Computer Studies, Geography and Citizenship.  These qualifications have now both been replaced by GCSEs. Within my job my tasks include processing new customer orders and updating changes on our current contracts. As part of this I have to communicate every day
with our sales staff across 6 divisional offices, which together control 58 different sales branches. I am also responsible for using sales
figures to create detailed reports, which must then be sent to the divisional offices within set deadlines. M y other duties include dealing with commission enquiries from our sales staff.

My work is completed in a friendly, open plan office which is kept clean and tidy at all times. The people I work with are all very helpful and supportive and our managers are all easy to get on with. My contracted hours are 37.5 a week, I am entitled to 23 days holiday a year (plus Bank Holidays) and I earn between £20,000 and £25,000 per year. At the end of each month my hours increase, while month end accounts and reports are created.

 In my job I need good maths skills, good keyboard skills, a pleasant telephone manner and good organisational skills for working to deadlines. To complete much of my work I use Microsoft Word and Excel computer software programmes. 

I began work here in 1984 as a trainee, attending college 1 day a week and in 1985 I was offered a full time job in our administration department.  I then took on a number of different positions within our administration department before being promoted to my current job in 1992. During my employment I have completed the in-house training courses shown below.