Ex-pottery staff get IT lessons to help job search

Louise Edwards worked as a pottery painter for 21 years

Former Moorcroft Pottery workers are being given laptops and IT lessons to help them get back into work.

The Burslem-based firm went bust in May, with the loss of 57 jobs.

Twenty-four women are being helped to improve their digital skills with the help of Stoke-on-Trent City Council and training service Wavemaker.

"It's all around empowering people with the confidence, kit and skills," said Wavemaker co-founder Ben McManus.

Ben McManus is co-founder of digital skills training company Wavemaker

Many of the workers had been at the pottery company since leaving school, said Louise Edwards, who was a painter for 21 years.

"So we don't have the skills for the future jobs market," she said.

The laptops and lessons are being paid for through government funding, and the course is being run at the GMB Union's offices in Hanley.

Claire Spate spent 27 years working for Moorcroft Pottery

Just turning the computer on had been a "big thing when you've painted pots for 38 years," said Hayley Moore.

"When you're in your fifties, you don't really want to start learning something new, but if that's what it takes, that's what it takes," she added.

The hunger to learn new skills, and the worker's resilience during stressful circumstances had been "infectious," said Mr McManus.

Twenty-four former pottery workers have been given laptops to help with their job searches.