Rolls-Royce Hiring Leatherworkers for Inside Job

Rolls-Royce is looking for artisans with near-forgotten leatherworking skills.

It is hiring 10 people to meet demand for leather trim in its Phantom and Ghost models and the newly launched Wraith.

The Leathershop team was launched with just four people in 2002 and now has 40 skilled artisans working across two shifts.

Rolls-Royce says the team is the most international within the company, with nationalities including British, Canadian, Brazilian, Portuguese, Ukrainian, German and Polish.

They come from a variety of industries ranging from saddlery to women’s lingerie, upholstery, couture work and sailmaking.

Leathershop General Manager Andrew Monachan says potential candidates should have suitable skills but do not need to be working as a machinist.

“Skills gained in a previous role or as a hobbyist could be appropriate, and full and extensive training will be provided,” Monachan says in a statement. “Every one of our cars is hand-built to order and we are reintroducing craft skills that, in many cases, would otherwise have lain dormant or been lost completely.”