A local textile apprentice has scooped a prestigious industry award – the “Lord Barnby Award” issued by The Worshipful Company of Woolmen.

The Lord Barnby Award is an annual prize, given to the most promising young person employed in the West Yorkshire textile industry.

Apprentice Weaver, Dylan Branter collected his award at the Goldsmiths Hall, London, at the Worshipful Company of Woolmen’s Annual Civic Dinner on the 29th October 2024. He was presented with a silver medal and a cheque for £500 by The Master, Manny Cohen, of Woolmen’s Company.

Dylan began working at Avena Carpets in 2022 and was enrolled onto the Textile Manufacturing Operative Apprenticeship with the Textile Centre of Excellence (TCoE).

Avena Carpets has a long, rich history in the West Yorkshire textile sector, having been a market leader in the production of Axminister and Brussels Wilton carpets over many decades.

At Avena, Dylan’s senior leadership team recognised his willingness to learn and his wish to progress in a hands-on, practical environment, working exclusively with wool. Outside of his apprenticeship, Dylan has also spent time as a volunteer at the Calderdale Industrial Museum in Halifax. He was approached by the Museum staff to put his newly-acquired skills to the test and began supporting the Museum with machine repairs on their Wilton carpet looms. He is their ‘go-to’ person when a machine breaks down.

His employer, Halifax based Avena Carpets commented; “Dylan has an insatiable thirst for knowledge around textile manufacturing and has demonstrated a much deeper understanding of textile production, far beyond his years. As he works towards a career in either textile engineering or loom tuning, he has taken it upon himself to enrol on additional training courses on evenings and weekends, to increase his knowledge and understanding in the mechanics of textiles. He is likely to start a new higher level Textile Engineering Apprenticeship very shortly.”

Apprenticeship tutor at the TCoE, Claire Eaton commented: “Dylan has been a pleasure to teach. He is the type of learner that will have a strong future in this industry. He is a worthy winner of the Lord Barnby Award.”