As a youth, Jon was having too much fun to do well at college and consequently, could not get the job in engineering that he had wanted. Instead, he applied for a job as a lab assistant at Pittards PLC and has never looked back. From being a lab assistant, he developed an interest in the manufacturing processes and moved through different roles in different parts of the tannery. With support from the company, he retook his A Level exams and then completed a degree in International Business,  which Jon says, contributed to him reaching his current position of Production Director.

In his current role, Jon is responsible for making sure that the factory is efficient, that costs are kept as low as possible, that standards are and that all the production goes out when it should. He is also responsible for purchasing raw material and new machinery. Add large amounts of travel and numerous other projects and it makes this a diverse, intellectually demanding and challenging role in which every day is different. However, a key skill is to be able to deal with people; as Jon says, ‘You make leather with people’.

Jon believes that the leather industry has a future and can offer a number of career options for those that know what they want to achieve and ‘go for it’. He is proud of his job and the company which he works for. He also enjoys being part of the tradition of leather manufacture and says, ‘I couldn’t see myself working in any other industry’.