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How has PRF helped develop your career?

Andreea: I arrived in UK in 2019 and 2 months later I started working for PRF in the Kit Cutting Department. It was my first contact with a manufacturing environment and with the composites industry. I worked with a great team and we’ve built beautiful memories. Gradually, I grew within the company and now I am working in the Quality Department. I have learnt a lot and I am still learning about this fascinating industry, about quality and teamwork. During these 4 years at PRF, I have developed my hard and soft skills and, together with my colleagues we’ve built great relationships. I am really excited about what the future will bring.

Claire: When I joined the PRF team three years ago, the Composites Industry was completely new to me. With the help and support of colleagues and senior management, I have learnt and developed my product knowledge as well as systems and procedures within the manufacturing sector. Furthermore, through in-house training I have had the opportunity to progress my career within PRF through promotion from procurement into the sales team.

Daria: I started my journey in PRF in 2018 as a production operator without any knowledge about composites industry. Through these years, I have been promoted to team leader and supervisor role. Recognizing my organisation skills, PRF have now given me the opportunity to become a production planner and purchasing assistant, which has stretched and challenged me, bringing me out of my comfort zone in terms of language skills especially. Before I joined PRF, I would never have imagined that I would work in this field and I appreciate all the support and guidance I have received.

How important is it to you that PRF has women in senior leadership positions?

Claire: Due to the nature of the Composites Industry, I assumed PRF would be a very male dominated environment. However, I was pleased to find that not to be the case at all. Having come into PRF and immediately seen women in senior leadership roles, it reassured my decision-making to enter this industry and gave me the confidence in PRF that I would be able to develop and progress my career.

How do you feel as a woman in a STEM industry?

Carole: When I started working at PRF, I had no knowledge of what composite materials were or how and where they were used. Coming into my 19th year of working here, my experience within the industry and at PRF has been a very interesting and exciting venture, with new material developments and innovations throughout the industry.

Daria: It’s funny because I was never really interested in STEM industries until I joined PRF. Talking to people, researching materials and what we do made me more interested in this subject. There are so many inspiring fields in the composites world: medical applications, wind energy, cars and aircrafts with reduced weight. These things are incredibly interesting. Every day we learn new things as the technical barriers are constantly pushed and all these things influence the future of the world.

How do you feel PRF supports equality in the workplace?

Andreea: PRF is embracing a culture of inclusion and diversity that has a positive impact on every member of the team. Our Team includes people of different nationalities, ages, with differences in education, culture, personalities, skills, experience and professional background. And we are all valued for our unique contribution, respected, supported and encouraged to have a voice.

Carole: With my 19 years now working at PRF, they are a very diverse company and have a great approach to employing and supporting employees from all backgrounds. Over the many years where PRF has grown as a company, they have also maintained supporting employees to grow themselves within different roles in the company.