Cloth Finisher / Machine Operator
Location: Bankfield Mills, Huddersfield
Learn a skilled trade. Work with exceptional fabrics. Become part of over 115 years of Yorkshire textile heritage. At WT Johnson & Son, textile finishing is more than a manufacturing process, it’s a craft.
Since 1910, four generations of our family and highly skilled finishers have helped make WTJ one of the world’s leading textile dyeing and finishing companies. From our historic home at Bankfield Mills in Huddersfield, we transform an ever-growing range of fabrics, from the finest gentlemen’s worsted suiting to specialist safety clothing and upholstery.
Now we’re looking for a Cloth Finisher / Machine Operator to join our team and help us continue that story.
You don’t need to know everything about textile finishing on day one.
Experience in textiles, manufacturing or machine operation would be an advantage, along with good mechanical aptitude, but full training will be provided for the right person. What matters most is that you’re practical, reliable and keen to learn. You’ll need a good eye for detail, pride in doing a job properly and a positive Can Do attitude.
In return, we’ll give you the training and support to develop across a range of machinery and specialist finishing processes, with the opportunity to become a highly skilled, multi-skilled cloth finisher. Could this be the start of a skilled career for you?
What’s in it for you?
- 4-Day Working Week 39 hours per week, Monday to Thursday, working days
- £12.91 per hour, depending on experience
- 6 Weeks’ Equivalent Annual Leave
- Employer Pension Contribution of 4.5%, increasing progressively with length of service
- Death in Service (DIS) Benefit
- Performance-Driven Annual Bonus based on company profitability
- Access to industry specific qualifications
- Start date: Immediate start available
- Training: Full training and ongoing skills development provided
What you’ll be doing?
No two days need be exactly the same. As your skills develop, you’ll learn to work across different machines and finishing processes, becoming an increasingly versatile member of our production team.
Your role will include:
- Operating specialist textile finishing machinery safely and effectively.
- Preparing machinery, materials and work areas for production.
- Loading, unloading, feeding and carefully handling cloth.
- Monitoring finishing processes and making appropriate adjustments.
- Inspecting cloth throughout production to make sure it meets our high quality standards.
- Identifying and reporting defects, quality issues and machine faults.
- Carrying out routine operator checks and maintaining excellent housekeeping standards.
- Working closely with experienced colleagues and learning from their knowledge.
- Looking for ways to improve quality, efficiency, safety and how we work.
- Developing your skills through ongoing training to become a multi-skilled finisher.
Above all, you’ll play a part in transforming our customers’ fabrics and producing work that you and the whole team can be proud of.
We’d love to hear from you if you…
- Enjoy practical, hands-on work and working with machinery.
- Have mechanical aptitude and like understanding how things work.
- Have a keen eye for detail.
- Take pride in producing high-quality work.
- Are reliable, punctual and flexible.
- Enjoy learning new skills and improving what you do.
- Work well as part of a team.
- Are happy to get involved and help where needed.
- Want the opportunity to build a long-term career and develop a skilled trade.
Previous experience as a machine operator, particularly within textiles, manufacturing or production, would be welcome, but textile finishing experience is not essential. We will train the right candidate.
Develop a craft, not just a job
Some of the skills used at WTJ have been developed and passed down through generations of expert fabric finishers.
We’re committed to ensuring those skills continue.
Through ongoing investment in training, you’ll have the opportunity to learn traditional textile craft skills alongside modern finishing techniques, developing experience across different machinery and processes.
For someone with the right attitude and willingness to learn, this is an opportunity to become part of the next generation of highly skilled textile finishers.
What it’s like to work at WTJ
Our culture is built around six straightforward values:
Can Do. Keep It Simple. Improve. Care. Do the Right Thing. Belonging.
They’re not corporate slogans. They describe how we want to work every day: taking responsibility, helping each other, caring about the quality of what we produce, finding better ways of doing things and making sure everyone feels part of the team.
Ready to become part of the next generation of textile finishers?
At WTJ, you’ll be joining a company that is proud of where it has come from, and ambitious about where it is going.
You’ll work alongside highly skilled people, learn a specialist craft and have the opportunity to develop into a versatile, multi-skilled operator.
If you care about doing a great job, enjoy practical work and want to learn skills you can build a career around, we’d love to hear from you.
Send cv to Jenny Webster [email protected]
Pay: £26,181.48 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
