Manufacturer and supplier of board, doors and furniture fittings Hill’s Panel Products (HPP) first female apprentice has completed the Level 2 Furniture Manufacturer Apprenticeship.

Ellie Shepherd, 17, decided to pursue a manual apprenticeship after seeing her 19-year-old brother Sam working as a cabinet maker.

She was even more determined when her decision met with scepticism in some quarters.

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Shepherd said: “I was told I should think about working in a pharmacy, or some kind of work like that.

“But when I saw what my brother was doing, I said that’s what I wanted to do, and even though people said I wouldn’t be able to, I said I was going to prove everybody wrong!”

She commented: “I want to get as many qualifications as I can to go higher in the company, becoming a supervisor and even a manager.

“And I want to prove that a girl can do that. I think more girls would like it, it’s never boring and you’re always busy.”

Shepherd, who joined the company having started her apprenticeship at another business, is now 10 months into her qualification.

She has eight months to go, with her current work and studies based on learning about machinery, assembly and jigs used to make the drawers.

“I’m learning quickly, and I’m already signed off on the saw, which I’m buzzing about”, she said, adding:  “I’m grateful I’ve got this opportunity; they’re teaching me such a lot.”

HPP’s marketing and business development director Dan Mounsey said: “We were originally recruiting for warehouse and logistics, but after we interviewed Ellie it was clear that the role she would be doing with us would fit the Furniture Manufacturer qualification.

“So, it made sense for her to carry on with that rather than start again and lose all the progress she had made.”

Ellie Shepherd is HPP’s second young apprentice this year, joining Warren Booth who started out on a government-funded, eight-week traineeship before embarking on his Level 2 Warehouse and Logistics Apprenticeship.