Staying ahead of the quality curve

How did you first hear about quality as a career?

I did an industrial design degree at university, so learned about designing parts, technical drawings, and how parts fit together and interact. The quality side of things did come into that, because we had to measure parts and learn about limit fits and tolerances.

My first job was in a design consultancy that specialised in medical products, so a lot of quality was drilled into me there, as part of the analysis of limits, the quality of surface finishes and making test models.

I then moved to a network ad fabrication company, where, again, everything had to fit perfectly and there was a lot of technical drawing, looking at measurements and how things fit together. We did work for the plastics processing industry, which would send an overall model and I would do all the development – taking that model and breaking it down into manufacturable steps to get the same end result every time.

Both organisations were ISO certified, so everything we did had to be measured, controlled and recorded – so, from university and into the start of my career, quality was drilled into me as a key factor.

Why did you decide to take this apprenticeship?

Just before I started my current job, the company was bought by an investment private equity firm, which brought in a production manager who had worked at places such as Toyota, so was well versed in quality. When I started my role, I was asked if I would be interested in studying for the L4 Quality Practitioner Apprenticeship alongside my job. Because I had been used to quality in my previous jobs and at university, it was already quite a personal thing to me, to make sure all the right forms are filled in, everything has been signed off correctly and the right procedures are in place.

What objectives did you hope to achieve and did the course meet those expectations?

The main thing I wanted was some qualifications outside of university. Since completing my degree, I had not studied for anything, so while I knew about quality, I didn’t have a qualification in it. I wanted to reinforce the practical side of quality that I had learned at work with the theory side of things.

I was on the course with quality people at all levels, all the way up to operations directors, so there was a big variation. That diversity was a really good thing in terms of learning from each other.

What were the key highlights of what you learned?

How to run and manage a quality system. We deal a lot with suppliers where I work, but learning about quality systems was all new to me. I started the course thinking it would be more about auditing and day-to-day quality things, such as measuring parts and analysis, but it was much more about being a quality manager and owning the quality system. That made me think about where I want to be going and really changed my career aspirations.

Learning how to grow and develop a business based on quality has made me want to get to operations director level, rather than just production management.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering starting the L4 Quality Practitioner Apprenticeship?

Go for it – there is so much to learn. Completing this apprenticeship with Clear Quality made me want to carry on learning, and I am now looking at what other qualifications I can do.

* An excerpt from this interview first appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of Quality World magazine.