Putting people first is at the heart of Horizon’s ethos. That’s why our relationship with Leeds Enterprise Partners has been so valuable. They’ve awarded us a £45,100 LEP grant, helping us to fit out our new build and create 10 new jobs including one new apprenticeship.
By Lindsay Tarrant, Finance Director
The principle of ‘Putting people first’ lies at the very heart of Horizon Platforms’ ethos. We’re a company that not only strives constantly to improve our customers’ experience but also give our staff the very best working life. Last year, we set out with a growth plan that would help us to continue to achieve both by moving to our new world-class facilities in Normanton.
To do this we needed a bit of help. That’s why our relationship with the Leeds Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has been so valuable and we are very grateful for their grant of £45,100 which has helped us to fit out our new-build facility and to create ten new jobs and one new apprenticeship in the region this year. These are in addition to a further eight jobs created at the company’s Warrington depot.
These new roles have been carefully chosen so that we can make the most of our fantastic facility. It’s almost three times bigger than our previous premises in Ossett, with the capacity to house a fleet of at least 1,000 access platforms available for hire. So, with more tools for the job, we needed extra people on hand to help.
Among the ten jobs, two new Relationship Support Managers are helping to enhance our customer service. This growing team will support increased demand for Horizon’s powered access rental, sales, and training service and acts as a single, dedicated point of contact for our growing family of customers.
In addition, we’ve also been delighted to welcome a new HGV Driver, a receptionist, one Workshop Assistant, and an HR Assistant to the Horizon family. They’ll help as our business grows further, so that we always provide an outstanding service.
We’re raised locally in the Yorkshire region, which is why we could apply for the grant that helped to make this all possible. The LEP makes funds available for local small and medium-sized businesses to invest in land, buildings, plant, machinery, and equipment. Any company that’s awarded a grant must, in turn, create permanent jobs in the Leeds City region, which includes Barnsley, Bradford, Calderdale, Craven, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds, Selby, Wakefield, and York. Businesses can apply for grants between £10,000 and £250,000 to supplement private funding.
This year, Horizon have also invested in LEP skills service funding courses in leadership and management, IT, and product testing. We’ve even been lucky to benefit from up to 50% match funding from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership. With increased growth, we’ve also utilised local services from the Wakefield Apprenticeship Hub to embrace young apprentices onto the team and help establish and support new careers with great potential.
Horizon Platforms always aims to put people first and we’re delighted that our relationship with the LEP has helped us to make improvements for customers and staff. It has not only helped to give our employees outstanding facilities to work in but also allowed us to open our doors to those who want to start an exciting career with Horizon.