After leaving school without qualifications, Tom Sharp drifted between jobs. But one of them – doing agency work as a packer at Mansfield-based Plastek – was to be a turning point.
“Three months in, I overheard some chit-chat that the engineering toolroom manager was looking for help. I went and asked if I could go in on a trial,” says Tom.
“I picked up some skills quickly, and they came up with an idea: because they were struggling to attract skilled people, why didn’t they take me on as an apprentice and put me through college?
“I was 23, I’d got no formal qualifications, and here was someone offering me the chance to get trained up in something I was enjoying. That was the start of my journey!”
Over the next few years, Tom would go on from his apprenticeship to complete an HNC and HND through Vision West Notts College. But Plastek didn’t stop there. They decided to grow their talent even further by putting him through a mechanical engineering degree.
Today, Tom is the Project Engineer at the world-leading packaging business, which makes items for household goods found in just about every home in the land. Tom is responsible for engineering products and processes which involve commissioning new, high-tech machinery and automated assembly lines.
“What I’ve ended up doing is something I’m passionate about. It also shows just how much industry there still is in Mansfield, and that there are businesses here nurturing people and offering them massive opportunities in life.
“I’m not really comfortable blowing my own trumpet, but I’m proud of what I’ve achieved and what Plastek made possible for me. I left school with very little. Now I’ve got an engineering degree, I’ve travelled the world with my job, and I guess I am proof that you can make it in Mansfield.”
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