Drilling and Sawing Association appoint new board member

11 November 2010

The boss of a Coventry company is cutting down barriers after becoming the first woman to be appointed to the board of a professional organisation for drillers and sawers.

Julie White, managing director of Shilton-based diamond drilling and sawing specialists D-Drill, has accepted a position on the board of directors of The Drilling and Sawing Association. The association, based in Nottingham, was established in 1984 and has over 100 members across the country.

Julie said she felt she could make a difference in an industry which continues to be male dominated. “It needs new people on the board and younger members who are rare in The Drilling and Sawing Association,” she said. “We need to prove to people that are not members that it is worth their while being part of the organisation. The apprenticeship scheme which they have introduced has been really important. Even through the recession which many businesses have found really hard, I didn’t want to cut back on training because it is so important for drilling and sawing companies. I have an ageing workforce and by investing in people now I am ensuring my business can survive in the future. If I had stopped sending my staff on the apprenticeship scheme during the two-and-a-half years of the recession it would have affected me now. My workers wouldn’t be trained to the highest standard and it also encourages commitment to D-Drill because we have invested in their training.”

Joel Vinsant, secretary of The Drilling and Sawing Association, said Julie fully deserved her position on the board. He said: “Julie has been pro-active in the industry for a number of years and fully deserves her place on the board. We want the association to have new blood with people who have fresh ideas to take the association forward with different approaches and with Julie’s involvement we can only go from strength to strength. She has been really enthusiastic about encouraging the two-year apprenticeship scheme we started six years ago which is vital to train the next generation in this specialist industry. It is important for people coming into this sphere to gain vocational and practical training and D-Drill has had 20 apprentices complete the course which highlights Julie’s commitment to providing her workforce with the best possible skills.”

Published on www.fca-magazine.co.uk

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