Painting a more hopeful future
Back in 2013, Jeff Hope was the first person to be hired by our yet-to-be-constructed Ashington decorative paints plant in the UK. His role at the time was to lead the design and build of the hi-tech manufacturing facility – the very definition of helping the company to paint the future. He’s been involved in the recruitment and development of every team member ever since and is still based at the site, where he now works as our Manufacturing Director of Decorative Paints in the UK and Ireland. Why then, has he just had a building named after him at Northumberland College?
Learn and Grow
“Ever since joining AkzoNobel, the founding principle of the Ashington site has been ‘a diverse environment that motivates people to learn and grow,’” he explains. “That’s what hooked me and what I signed up to deliver.” Jeff didn’t hang about. He picked up the education baton and ran with it. Beyond the boundaries of the site and deep into the wider community. This tireless commitment to change-making education and local development has since inspired countless initiatives. They include the AkzoNobel Ashington apprenticeship program, co-developed with Northumberland College, which has seen dozens of people offered permanent roles with the company and is now a model for industry-led training. No surprise then, that his unswerving dedication to supporting the local community has resulted in well-deserved recognition in the shape of the Hope Building. Currently being built, it will form part of the college’s new Ashington Campus and will house its construction and engineering center, which is due to open in 2026. “It’s very humbling to have a building named after me,” continues Jeff, who used to attend Northumberland College in his student days. “Especially considering the reality of the number of brilliant people that have contributed to Northumberland getting a brand new college. It’s even more special for me that it’s a building linked to education, which has the potential to influence the outcomes of so many learners.
Educational standards
“The naming of the college is a lovely thing, but what I’m most proud of is what we’ve achieved together and how many people’s lives have benefited positively from the work we’ve done with the college. The truth is, it really matters. There’s a work element for us, but the volunteering element stems from a real personal interest in the region – to have better educational standards and standards of living.” Jeff’s own educational journey at the Ashington Campus involved studying civil engineering, architecture and surveying. He later went on to complete a degree in Surveying and Mapping Science at Newcastle University. His career began at sea as a navigator on marine exploration vessels, followed by more than a decade at Alcan’s Lynemouth aluminum smelter, where he was eventually appointed Plant Manager. Then in 2013, he was approached by AkzoNobel to help build the Ashington site. Under his leadership, the facility introduced cutting-edge technologies, created hundreds of new jobs and developed a strong ethos which continues to help shape the former mining town’s economic future. “My own experiences at Northumberland College allowed me to go on and live my dreams,” adds Jeff. “I’ve spent most of my adult life being able to live and work in Northumberland and want to enable others to have even better opportunities and lives.”
Proud employees
And he’s convinced that playing an active role in the community is fundamental to making this happen. “If you want to be sustainable, you need to be part of the community you operate in – not tolerated, but welcomed,” says Jeff. “Having proud employees needs to extend to being proud outside of the time you’re at work. We aspire to having employees that are proud in their community and proud to put on an AkzoNobel shirt. That’s got to be a good thing for us all. We’re the fortunate ones – we have jobs, health, resources, access to skills to be able to support others – if we can’t help, then who will? Hope, of course, is an apt name for a building designed to help shape the future of young people. And at the formal naming ceremony, which was held at the site of the new building, Jeff etched a message into the concrete. What did he want to pass on to the students of the future? “The message was about saying if you want something enough, there is a way to achieve it. That’s why hope is important. A lot of people might feel like things aren’t possible, but they are. Anything is. The people that think it isn’t possible are the ones that need the most help and warmth. You’re born into a world you haven’t chosen so you have make the most of it – no one should be left behind.”
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