Doctor’s orders
Few brands have kept pace with the times as well as the seemingly ever-present Dr Martens, which remains fashionably relevant following wave after wave of popular culture. World Leather catches up with the company’s apprenticeship supervisor, Tanya Granaghan, to find out why a Dr Martens education is much sought after.
The role of people is central to Dr Martens’ story. Not only does the wearer – the front-of-mind maker and follower of trends spanning punk to grunge and beyond – have a part to play, but so too do the back-of-house hands that continue to build its famously yellow-stitched boots and shoes deserve their time under the spotlight. Since 2004, the majority of Dr Martens manufacturing has taken place in factories across Asia, but around 1% of production today happens in England, at the brand’s traditional Cobbs Lane facility in Wollaston, Northamptonshire. Notably, the company told the Guardian in 2019 that Dr Martens’ manufacturing methods in Asia and England are identical, “all the way down to putting the lid on the box”.
World Leather learns from Ms Granaghan that the business’ plan has “always” been to expand its (slightly more expensive) Made in England footwear line. She explains that Dr Martens is operated with a long-term, custodian mindset and that “part of that means ensuring key skills are retained and passed down to new generations of skilled shoemakers.” Hence, a year-long traineeship in expressly British-style upper shoe production – including foot measurement, sizing, last types, pattern-cutting, clicking and closing – was launched by Dr Martens in April 2012. Since then, nine cohorts of Cobbs Lane-based apprentices have received a government-accredited qualification in footwear manufacturing upon completion of the scheme. (Class of 2022 applications closed on July 2.)
Prior to 2012, the only new employees joining the production team were either ex-Dr Martens personnel or those who had previously been trained at other factories in Northamptonshire, Ms Granaghan says. Thus, after identifying a lack of early career footwear professionals joining its ranks, the company formed its apprenticeship programme with the intention to “give young people a chance to train in the industry, alongside people who live and breathe the brand”, she explains. For the existing production team, she tells us that passing on their skills to the next generation “fills them with pride”. Ms Granaghan describes how the scheme fosters a sense of community at Wollaston, inspiring young people and building bridges from one generation to the next.
Successful completion of the twelve-month traineeship qualifies apprentices for a full-time position at Dr Martens, either in clicking, closing, lasting or in the shoe room. The work in the clicking team mainly involves operating the cutting presses to specified quality standards (and creating the least amount of wastage possible for leather), while those who work in closing will use sewing machines to complete a Dr Martens upper. In lasting, new recruits learn the process of shaping the shoe around a last and attaching the sole to the brand’s yellow-stitched welt. Toe lasting, back part moulding, upper trimming, side lasting, inseam trimming, welt sewing, heat sealing, edge trimming and last slipping are also part of this work. The shoe room is where the team adds the final quality touches and where all footwear is cleaned and boxed ready for dispatch.
On average, around half of each year’s apprenticeship intake stay on at the factory, where they are “heavily” relied upon throughout their initial training. Whereas some are retrained within other Dr Martens departments, such as sustainability, others may go on to pursue a career with another brand in the locality. “We still see this as a positive for British footwear manufacturing,” the apprenticeship supervisor states.
Final results
2021 saw close to 200 aspiring shoemaking apprentices apply to Dr Martens – less than in previous years. Though perhaps easily attributable to the ongoing covid-19 health emergency, Ms Granaghan does not suggest a reason for this, but rather says that it was surprising. The brand’s class of 2021 commenced their learning in September 2020, “in the middle of a pandemic”, which resulted in apprentices and their teacher-mentors adapting to virtual training sessions. This group is currently working on their final projects, which ordinarily would include hands-on assistance from the whole production team as necessary, although apprentice artisans are always “mainly” responsible for their showcase product. To enable assessment of what they have learned so far in the scheme, each trainee designs and makes their own pair of Dr Martens shoes, intended to result in a creative reflection of their personality.
Due to the programme’s incorporation of brand and footwear history, in addition to practical know-how, apprentices are well-prepared for all sectors of the company, including sourcing, product development and design, Ms Granaghan tells World Leather. Previous apprentices, now employees, have had opportunity to travel or relocate to the company’s factories in Asia. A digital cutting supervisor, apprenticeship training supervisor and an in-training internal maintenance mechanic, all former Dr Martens apprentices, are among those who remain working at the Northamptonshire plant. Further, ex-apprentices’ feedback helps inform future training, the aim of which is the ongoing improvement of each year’s course structure.
Having sold 12.7 million pairs of shoes and boots in the 12 months ending March 21 this year (an increase in volume of 14% compared to the previous business year), plus having reported a 15% year-on-year revenue boost, there is evidently no kicking back for Dr Martens – or its apprentices.
Dr Martens’ iconic cherry red leather boot with the distinctive yellow welt stitch has featured prominently since the 1960s.
All Credits: Dr Martens
