Nurturing Skills and Confidence: Lili Capelle’s Mission to empower Jewellery Students for Success

Over time, her path bent toward teaching. She began by leading diploma courses and crafting partnerships with jewellery schools across Europe, eventually joining the Goldsmiths’ Centre, where her role expanded beyond traditional instruction. Here, she wove precision with creativity into the curriculum, preparing emerging industry professionals not only to work with their hands but to shape their voices and vision.

Lili’s teaching philosophy centres on resilience and self-awareness, qualities she instills in her students as they face the realities of a field that demands both patience and passion. Here, they begin to understand that jewellery-making is no mere craft; it’s a calling, a commitment to beauty forged through labour. With the introduction of T Levels, Lili has adapted the Jewellery Foundation Programme, ensuring it remains a sanctuary for craftsmanship - a space where skills, spirit, and self-discovery align - helping the next generation of jewellers and goldsmiths to find their pursue and future careers in the industry.

We sat down with Lili to explore her journey, her philosophy on craft, and her vision for the future of vocational training in jewellery-making.

I joined the Goldsmiths’ Centre in 2019 and have since served as the Programme Manager for Vocational Training. In this role, I am responsible for developing and managing our Jewellery Foundation Programme and technical short courses. My background in curriculum design, quality assurance, and apprenticeship programme management enables me to drive initiatives that bridge skill gaps and promote industry excellence.

My journey began many years ago, with a foundation course in France in jewellery engineering. This course focused primarily on traditional, handmade techniques and methods. Toward the end of the five-year programme, we were introduced to some of the modern technologies available at the time. Following this, I completed a BTech Higher National Diploma in jewellery design and engineering.

Before entering the field of education, I worked in the jewellery quarter in Paris, then moved to London, where I continued my career in Hatton Garden. This experience provided me with invaluable skills in understanding how the industry operates and what is expected of professionals. It’s often very different from the more theory-based learning in school, even in practical courses.

Being able to keep learning on the job equipped me with essential, industry-based knowledge. Being part of the Hatton Garden community allowed me to engage directly with employers and experience both the creative and commercial sides of the industry. This helped me to develop a language of understanding and trust that has been instrumental in my career.

In 2011, I transitioned into education, taking on a variety of roles, starting as a course leader across different levels of education and moving into apprenticeship management in both London and Birmingham. My career has been dedicated to creating supportive, high-quality learning environments that empower learners, apprentices, and educators to excel and pursue their passions.

I joined the Goldsmiths' Centre because of its commitment to high-quality, hands-on training and its dedication to the jewellery and silversmithing industry. This role has allowed me to work within an organisation that not only values craftsmanship but also fosters creativity, community, and lifelong learning. It’s a perfect match for my belief in vocational education as a bridge to fulfilling careers. Supporting young people as they discover and refine their unique skills in jewellery-making is profoundly rewarding, especially as we see them embrace craftsmanship and build their futures with confidence and precision.

In my experience, education in France is quite different from that in the UK. In France, jewellery-making isn't taught at the university level - instead, there are private schools or more practical, hands-on training environments. Here in the UK, institutions like the Goldsmiths’ Centre and some private schools teach practical skills, but university-level courses tend to be more theory and design-based. Though my training in France was very hands-on, it didn’t fully prepare me for the realities of a working environment, like the need to work quickly and think on my feet. I had the foundational skills, but I was initially quite slow in applying them in a professional setting.

I wasn’t initially aware of the commercial side of the industry, and in my training, design often felt like an afterthought. When I came to the UK, I met students coming from university with incredible ideas - ideas that weren’t always practical to produce, but were so creative. I didn’t have that same creative exposure in my own training. Since taking on the Jewellery Foundation Programme, I’ve aimed to bring more creativity into the curriculum while maintaining the hands-on, precise, almost mechanical foundation of skills. It’s become increasingly important for young people to express their personality and creativity within their skillset.

When I look at our end-of-year shows now, compared to four or five years ago, I can see a transformation. The displays still cover all the core skills we want students to develop, but now there’s a stronger sense of individual identity. This is because we’ve allowed more room for creativity within projects. In a way, I’ve drawn from the gaps in my own education - bringing together the strengths of both the French and UK approaches.

Some students may not see it this way at first, especially those who don’t feel naturally creative. They can be a bit hesitant and self-doubting. But I believe that a bit of tough love - gently pushing them outside their comfort zones - is valuable.

That’s what they’ll face in real life. No job will cater to them entirely, and not every employer will look after them at every step. They need to get comfortable stepping outside their comfort zones from time to time. Hopefully, this helps them develop into self-aware, adaptable future employees with a stronger understanding of their own capabilities.

Each year, we have students who start the course thinking they know exactly what they want to do, only to realise it’s not for them. Likewise, some are deeply committed to reaching their goals from the start. The jewellery industry, especially as portrayed on social media, often appears glamorous and lucrative, but the reality is quite different. There are many young people from all backgrounds who come in with these expectations, and for them, the course serves as a bit of a reality check. Success in this field requires commitment, patience, hard work, and a willingness to get their hands dirty.

The Jewellery Foundation Programme is a place where they can explore what they think they want to do versus what they’re genuinely good at. We support them in this process, but sometimes they don’t fully grasp the message until a few months after finishing the course. Eventually, though, they come to those realisations on their own.

I would never tell a student, "You’re not good at this; you should be doing something else." It’s about helping them understand and trust themselves so they can make those decisions on their own. Sometimes, the specific job they want may not even exist, or there may be no direct path forward. In those cases, it’s often helpful to take a detour, explore related roles, and then return to their original goal. Occasionally, students even discover a new passion for something they never considered as a career.

Then, there are those who are very focused and determined, knowing exactly what they want and sticking to it, which can lead to great success. Every student’s journey toward their chosen career is unique; there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. With a smaller cohort of ten students, we have the time and resources to nurture them so they can pursue something they’re skilled at and, hopefully, enjoy.

For me, jewellery was a calling - I fell in love with it from the day I entered jewellery school. It’s a vocation, much like becoming a doctor or a nurse. You don’t enter it just for a job; you have to truly love it. If you don’t enjoy the community, the work, getting your hands dirty, or thinking outside the box, then it’s unlikely to work out. In my view, the soft skills we impart - like resilience, adaptability, and self-awareness - are just as crucial as the technical skills.

We’ve reshaped the Jewellery Foundation Programme to be slightly more focused on jewellery design, manufacturing, and setting. Our aim is to eventually create a separate pathway dedicated to silversmithing and the decorative and allied trades. While this course will still give students some exposure to different specialisms, it won’t be as broad as our current programme.

This decision partly stems from the understanding that certain jewellery-making skills, like setting, require extensive practice. When we cover too many areas, students don’t get the depth needed in each one, meaning they may enter the industry with a solid foundation but without the level of expertise employers expect in jewellery. By narrowing the focus, we can allocate more time to practice and refine those core skills. Ideally, we’ll eventually have a separate silversmithing pathway. Whether this will be delivered here at the Goldsmiths’ Centre or another institution is yet to be decided, but it should allow for a more balanced, dedicated time to hone those skills.

Our year-long Jewellery Foundation Programme is designed to equip trainees with essential jewellery-making skills while fostering their creativity and craftsmanship. It covers traditional hand-making techniques, contemporary processes, and an introduction to the commercial aspects of the industry.

We emphasise the entire learner journey, beginning with foundational skills and moving through project-based learning, ultimately culminating in professional-level techniques that prepare them to enter the industry. Additionally, we incorporate employability skills to provide a well-rounded, comprehensive education. This structure ensures that trainees leave the course well-prepared to contribute to the industry or pursue further training.

The beauty of this training lies in our focus on a combination of technical precision, creative thinking, and self-confidence. Key skills include proficiency in handcrafting techniques, design principles, and a solid understanding of materials and tools. We also emphasise problem-solving, precision in measurements, and the importance of following detailed instructions - skills that form the foundation of high-quality jewellery-making. We encourage collaboration and partnership, helping trainees develop both their technical expertise and their unique creative styles.

Economic barriers also pose challenges for many entering the jewellery industry, where the cost of materials, tools, and training can be significant. I'm grateful to work at a centre that provides access to a full year of free education, along with all necessary materials and tools, which helps eliminate these obstacles for ten young people each year. While I wish we could expand this opportunity, it's a start, and I believe it's crucial to maintain this model.

While a bursary system can alleviate some financial burdens, I believe it's vital that young people do not start their careers with substantial debt. Coming from France, where education is free, I was shocked to learn about the significant student loans my friends in the UK had to repay. I’m pleased that we can help eliminate this barrier, making our vocational training one of the best in the country for aspiring jewellers.

Moving forward, our goal is to raise awareness about these opportunities among communities that may not yet know about them. We hope to attract more students who truly need this support. While we have made significant progress in the last decade, there's still work to be done to reach those who could benefit the most.