For over 85 years, Chester Jefferies has made gloves fit for a Queen. But now, the company that once supplied the royal family is closing down, with its owner saying many young people lack the interest or patience to take on the “old-fashioned craft”.
Mark Pearce, who has worked at Chester Jefferies glove makers in Gillingham, Dorset, since he was 14, alongside his father who founded the company, predicted that the bespoke industry could cease to exist in Britain within 10 years.
Pearce says despite spending “thousands” on training young people, the amount of time it takes to become qualified enough to be a glove maker, and the low salary that apprentices usually receive, meant that most young people did not want to stay long in the field.
Speaking in the week of the Queen’s jubilee, he said: “Over a period of years, we’ve tried to retain young people but in the glove industry it takes six to nine months to become a decent machinist and to be able cut a pair of gloves properly. The apprenticeships take five years and young people weren’t prepared to be on a low salary to ensure they’d become qualified – we couldn’t hold onto them.”
In Chester Jefferies’ earlier days, Pearce says the factory employed around 52 staff and described the atmosphere as ‘“buzzing”. Today, he says despite several attempts to recruit young people there is no enthusiasm to learn the craft nor to work in a factory.
Pearce said that another reason for the company closing was existing staff who had worked at the family business wanting to retire.
“I understand that glove-making is an old-fashioned craft and to be honest, young people can earn a lot more in other areas and ultimately, they have to make the best decision for themselves.”
Dents Gloves, a glove maker company founded in 1777 who specialise in leather gloves, say that although business has been good this year, factories are quickly closing around Britain.
The chief executive of Dents Gloves, Deborah Moore, says they have offered training schemes that would produce glove makers in three years, as opposed to the previous four or five it would have taken to become a machinist or glove cutter.
She said: “I’ve been in this business 32 years and glove factories have massively decreased. It’s terribly sad. Young people don’t want to come into this industry or stay too long to get qualified. People aren’t staying because they don’t want to take the time to train.”
