The first Yorkshirewoman to become head of a historic City of London livery company has vowed to help talented people working in industry get the recognition and opportunities they deserve.

Elizabeth Bonfield has been installed as Master of the Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers, Alias Wire Workers, at a ceremony at Mansion House in the Square Mile.

Ms Bonfield has had a long and successful career in vocational education and training, including senior roles at several manufacturing awarding bodies. She was the first woman to become a director of metals sector trade association BMPCA and was the instigator of the Industry Apprentice Council, the first collective voice for apprentices in representations to government and industry.

In her installation speech, she said she wants to “create opportunities for all of us to engage more deeply with the trade connections” during her year in office, citing everything from jewellery-making to manufacturing components for Formula 1 cars as examples of career paths in the metals sector.

Bonfield also evoked the memory of Sir William Craven, who grew up near Burnsall in the Yorkshire Dales in the 16th century, travelled to London as a young apprentice and became Lord Mayor in 1610. He later returned to fund a school in Burnsall and build a bridge over the River Wharfe, both still in use today. She said he was "a wonderful example of how the livery system helped ambitious craftsmen and merchants rise to the very highest civic offices – long may this continue". Bonfield was raised on her family's farm in Bolton Abbey and now lives in Haworth, West Yorkshire.

As a nod to her Yorkshire heritage, the Company will award its annual charity fund grant to Calderdale Industrial Museum, which is run entirely by volunteers. The money will help bring historic wire-making machinery into full working order at the museum's Halifax site.

Kevin Parkin and Richard Cook, longstanding friends of hers and directors at South Yorkshire-based Castings Technology, said: "Elizabeth is a passionate advocate for our industry and for the people who work in it. Her tireless commitment to championing apprenticeships and developing talent has left a lasting mark on the metals sector and we're proud to call her a friend. We wish her every success as Master this year."

Dame Susan Langley, the 697th Lord Mayor of the City of London, presented Ms Bonfield with a glass sculpture to mark the occasion, incorporating a fragment of stone from St Paul's Cathedral and minerals collected from the Thames shoreline. Both women are the third to hold their respective roles.

The Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers, Alias Wire Workers, is one of 114 livery companies in the City of London. The Company traces its roots to the historic tin plate and wire-working trades, and continues to support students and apprentices in materials science and the metals industries.