Career Heroes - Emily McConnell

Tell us more about you

I’m a social person, with a positive attitude, and I enjoy motivating myself to progress in all that I wish to achieve.

I enjoy cooking, makeup artistry, and being creative. I also love learning new skills and taking on new opportunities.

What kind of work do you do?

I’m based in the Sewing Room in Cooneen Group’s Fivemiletown site. My job role as a sewing machinist requires me to be organised and work towards my daily targets. I work in a large team, so teamwork is essential, but I also need to be able to work independently following detailed instructions.

It is essential that I focus on attention to detail to ensure each garment is sewn to our company's quality standards.

How did you become a Sewing Machinist?

Throughout my studies, I worked in various customer service environments in retail and hospitality. This provided me with many skills and I was able to understand customer needs, and how businesses succeed.

After secondary school, I went to Manchester to go to University and I studied Special Effects Makeup Artistry, which enabled me to explore my creative side and work with costume design.

After University, I decided that I would learn to sew and understand assembling a garment. Using my skills as a sewing machinist through the apprenticeship programme has provided me with unique skills to further my future career.

If you could do-over, What would you do differently?

If I could do over my career to date I would research my education options prior to going to University to find out if there were other paths for me. I would also take more opportunities in training in different roles to figure out my own abilities and potential.