A typical working day
One of the things I like about my job is that there’s no such thing as a typical day. Some days I can be visiting suppliers which can be anywhere in the world, but typically in Europe. Or I could be running a trial at one of our factories, again anywhere in Europe, or at one of our supplier sites.
Skills and qualifications
To be a chemical engineer you need to have done a chemical engineering degree, which has been accredited by the Institution of Chemical Engineers. The other qualities that they looked for in me, when the recruited me were judgement, which is about being able to make the right decisions and gather the correct information to make those decisions, influence, which is the ability to persuade other people to what you think is the best idea and drive, which is the desire to succeed. You need to be self-motivating and able to work to deadlines on your own.
What do you like about your job?
It’s almost like I’m my own boss. I can look at the things I have to do and decide which one I’m going to do first – there’s nobody telling me what to do.
What training have you had?
I joined Cadbury on the graduate programme and throughout that programme I’ve had technical training and personal skills training, such as influencing and negotiating skills. I’ve had a lot of training and I think that’s partly driven by me. If I identify a need for training and see a course that will fulfil that need I just ask my manager if I can go on it, and normally they say yes.
What is your career plan?
I’ve scoped out projects and I’ve decided what equipment we need to buy and how much it will cost. I’ve dealt with the suppliers. I’ve dealt with looking at new technologies. The one thing that I haven’t done is actually start a new project from scratch and be there at the beginning when you make it all work in the factory, and so that’s what I’m looking for. And I’m also looking for some more international experience and the challenge of working in a foreign culture.
Why this company?
I wanted to work for a large multinational company. I also wanted to work for a British company. Out of the possible companies I looked at, the people at Cadbury were the friendliest. And that was why I chose Cadbury.