In January 2005, however, Johnston became a full-time youth worker for Stoke-on-Trent City Council. This week he picks up the Adult Learners' Week Open College Network 25th Anniversary Award for the West Midlands area, for his achievements in using learning to turn his life around and to help others.
Johnston's career path changed when he left the John Tams pottery where he had worked for 24 years for a change of scene. He moved to Cornwall, but was made redundant after only nine weeks.
He returned to Stoke, and found work in other potteries. But whereas at John Tams he had filled a managerial role, he now found himself back on the shop floor. "I did get fed up with it," he admits. "Just sitting behind a machine wasn't fulfilling me at all."
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