Lisa was looking for a change of direction when she saw a job advertised at her local tannery. Despite living near the tannery, she had no idea about the leather industry. However, when she came to the tannery for her interview, she found it fascinating and was struck by the history and the combination of traditional manufacturing and new technology. She left school at 16 and has worked in a number of jobs, including hand-building trucks, teaching and running pubs. Now she is in the leather industry, she says she is staying for good.

She has a diverse role at the company with responsibility for the administration, payroll, sales customer services and more. However, she says she loves her job as it so varied and you never know what will come next. She enjoys the challenge and doesn’t get bored. The company have provided a lot of support for her since she joined them, including tailoring her hours to suit the demands of being a single mother.

Lisa is very proud of her job and is constantly trying to get other people into the industry. As she observes, it must be a good industry to work in as the long service award at the tannery comes after 40 years!