THE latest addition to Hill’s Panel Products says the company is ‘interesting, refreshing and exciting’.
Matt Wilson, who hails from Shaw but now lives in Royton, has been welcomed to the furniture component manufacturers and suppliers, based in Oldham, as a management accountant.
He joins the nine-strong finance team after several years working for an American-based multinational corporation.
He said: “Coming to HPP has been everything I was hoping it would be. It’s interesting, exciting and refreshing, to say the least, after working in a super-corporate environment where there is politics and red tape everywhere that limit what you can actually achieve.
“My ultimate goal is to use my experience to help and develop the business – to make a positive impact for all to see.”
As well as his ‘day job’ of producing financial reports and accounts for internal and external use, Matt will be working on streamlining and automating HPP’s financial processes with the aim of making them more efficient.
He added: “I’ve only been here a short while but the list of things to do is getting longer all the time. It’s a very positive experience to be left to your own devices, and to see the benefits of what you do straight away.”
A graduate in Business and Finance from Salford University, the 31-year-old is combining work with studying to become a fully qualified chartered accountant.
He added: “I joined HPP because I got a gut feeling it was right for me. The progression opportunities because the business is growing were a big factor, but another reason was the people. The atmosphere is really different from where I worked before.”
His new role is also giving him the opportunity to mentor another of HPP’s new finance recruits, Adnan Khan, who has joined the company as a finance assistant – a completely new role for HPP.
In his spare time, Matt is a keen Manchester City fan and describes himself as a ‘keen but not-so-good golfer’. He also plays badminton when he can find an opponent. He is also a motorbike fanatic following in the footsteps of his bike-riding dad.
Meanwhile, Dan Mounsey, Marketing and Business Development Director at HPP, has hailed the benefits of apprenticeships for some of its younger workers.
He said: “Apprenticeships enable us to train young people in a way that works best for the business.
“We are quite unique in what we do, with all the different processes we are almost several businesses in one and to have the opportunity to take young people on and give them experience in various different facets means that as part of their learning, they are also learning about us and our sector.
“But it’s also important to give young people a chance. We are a big employer in the Oldham area, so we see it as our responsibility to give something back to our local community.”
HPP has a history of commitment to skills and training at all levels and has two employees currently enrolled on apprenticeships.
The latest is 19-year-old Josh Burke, from Bardsley, who is completing a City and Guilds Level 2 and 3 course in maintenance engineering through the Oldham Training Centre (OTC), where he is studying on day-release for the next three-and-a-half years.
Josh is the second HPP employee currently doing an apprenticeship along with Ellie McCartney, who is taking a Level 3 NVQ in business administration, attending Oldham College once a month.
Josh and Ellie join several HPP employees who have completed apprenticeships of late, the most recent being Ethan Forster, from Waterhead, who works in board production.
Another is HPP maintenance engineer Alex Knight, from Royton, who completed a Level 3 City and Guilds mechanical engineering apprenticeship while working in the site maintenance department. He is now waiting to start a HND Level 4 qualification.
• Hill’s Panel Products (HPP) serves the national kitchen and bedroom fitting industry. Find out more online: www.hpponline.co.uk
You must be logged in to post a comment.