It's sofa so good for upholstery apprentice.
ALAN Sugar would be proud of one female apprentice in Ossett who has proved she has real girl power.
Lucianne Hinch, 20, was named apprentice of the year by the North Lancs training group in her particular field of upholstery.
After starting her apprenticeship over two years ago with Ossett Upholstery on Kings Way, Miss Hinch has proved she can hold her own in a male-dominated workplace.
She said: "Not many girls work in upholstery and, to be honest, I didn't even know what was involved in the trade when I first went for the job. But now I absolutely love it and can't imagine doing anything else."
Miss Hinch, who lives in Oakland Road, Netherton, had started studying for her A-levels at Ossett sixth form when she decided it was not for her any more.
She said: "It was a shock to my family because they always thought I would go to university and I did really well in my GCSEs. But I'd had enough of being at school and wanted to do something else. My mum took me to the job centre and I just saw the ad for this apprenticeship.
"Now I work reupholstering old sofas and do bespoke work on new items. I love the creative side of it consulting with customers, personally I think women are better at that anyway."
Manager of Ossett Upholstery, David Aldred, said: "This is a very male-dominated trade. There are almost never any women upholsterers. So when Lucianne came for the interview I thought she wouldn't last five minutes, but she was so enthusiastic I wanted to give her a chance.
"And she has been absolutely amazing. And to win this award is fantastic, we are all very proud of her."
Miss Hinch said she thought young people did not often consider apprenticeships as career paths.
She said: "I didn't even know something like this existed but it is perfect for me. I get to do something practical and creative. And when you learn a trade, you have that trade for life."
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Weather for Wakefield
Thursday 09 February 2012
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