Meet an apprentice: Owen Hastings

Tell me a bit about yourself, where you work now, what your speciality is (if any), how old you are.

My name is Owen Hastings, “I started my official apprenticeship in 2012 at the age of 16 for Birmingham gunmaker Westley Richards I would say my speciality as a tradesman is stock making, with linked skills such as instructing and gun-fitting”

When did you first realise you wanted to work with guns?

When “I was eleven years old, my family moved to the edge of Exmoor and my father took up clay shooting. After my third time watching, I plucked up the courage to have a go and met life-long friend Dennis Stepney who ran the shoot. Dennis was also a gunsmith, any time spent waiting for my Mother to collect me after the competitions was spent in the workshop tinkering with guns from the scrap pile.”

How did you go about finding yourself an apprenticeship?

“At the age of 14 I had started sending my limited CV to top gunmakers around the country, some replied, some didn’t, sadly the ones that did always said the same thing – ‘You live too far away’ ‘You’re too young’ ‘We’re not recruiting’. I was stumped at the time, thankfully I was put in contact with Mark Crudginton, who hosted me in the workshop for a day and with his recommendation forwarded my details to the late Chris Soyza – who as it transpires was monumental at bringing young people into the gun trade.”

You benefitted from a bursary from Gunmaker’s Company Charitable Trust [GCCT]. How was that?

“If I am honest, I cannot tell you the day I was selected. The bursary scheme has a huge impact for employers who pay the apprentices salary—which is the most important thing, encouraging employment. I look back with appreciation for what the GCCT has done for me.”

Do you feel it made a difference to your apprenticeship, if so, what?

“Totally!! Would Westley’s or Purdey have employed me if they didn’t get the extra funding? Who knows? I would have found a path into the gun trade somehow, but the funding gave me a tremendous leg-up and boosted my career with training from two top gunmakers.”