WHEN Emma Singh took up a Saturday job at a Kidderminster opticians she didn’t imagine that one day she’d be back running the store.

Mrs Singh not only jointly runs Specsavers in Kidderminster but its three sister stores at Kidderminster Sainsbury’s, Stourport-on-Severn and Droitwich.

This involves her overseeing some 70 staff and supporting the eye care needs of more than 57,000 people.

Her career began some 20 years ago, where she combined part time Saturday work at Specsavers Kidderminster alongside her studying optometry at Bradford University.

From the start Emma knew that a career in optics was for her and aspired to run her own practice at some point.

She said: "My time at Specsavers Kidderminster quickly opened my eyes to all that optometry offers.

"From the clinical aspects of the eye examination to the customer service on the shop floor, to the technical elements in the lab – there really is more than meets the eye - and this is what makes it such a varied and rewarding career."

After completing her degree Emma took up a role as a graduate optometrist at Specsavers Kidderminster.

She stayed with the store for four years, during which time she completed her training to become a store director, going on to take up a joint partner role at Specsavers Droitwich.

In March 2019, Emma, alongside her husband Randeep, joined fellow directors Tim and Jonathan with the additional responsibilities for the stores in Kidderminster, Kidderminster Sainsbury’s and Stourport-on-Severn.

"Taking on new stores at the start of the pandemic certainly added to the challenge.

"But I’ve always been pretty determined and with the support of our loyal colleagues we were able to continue to offer essential and urgent eye care through the lockdowns."

"Now, as we face an even greater increase in demand for our services, we are looking to grow our teams across all our stores.

"This is for a variety of roles, full and part-time, and across the business, so although retail and / or optical experience is desirable it’s not essential.

"We’d encourage anyone who’s enthusiastic, who wants to join a friendly team with great career development opportunities to get in touch. Either call one of the stores or email becky.marvin@specsavers.com to find out more."