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Classics, King's College London |
Line Manager for Mini Eggs Production
"The friendliness and openness of my colleagues was one of my first impressions when I arrived. There are always people who are willing to answer questions and, in fact, you're encouraged to ask them!
"If I had to sum up my job here at Cadbury in three words, I'd say demanding, satisfying and delicious! I'm working as a shift manager on the Mini Eggs plant in our Somerdale factory and I sometimes wonder how I ever got here. My degree was in Classics, so it's a little surprising that I spend my day wearing a hairnet and worrying about valves, flanges and motors. It's a long way from Virgil's Aeneid!
"I work twelve-hour shifts on rotating days and nights, which means that my day starts with a handover either 6.30 in the morning or evening. The first hour is spent assessing what we need to produce, how many staff I have in and any issues that have cropped up. I brief my team at 7.45 and during the week, I chair the morning meeting with other managers and engineers in the department, where we review plant performance and discussing upcoming developments. I then spend the shift making decisions, resolving problems and making sure that everyone in the team knows what is expected. Every shift is different and you have to balance the daily operational tasks with the challenges of managing a large team. Twelve hours may sound like a long time, but it usually goes by very quickly.
"This job has developed my knowledge and day-to-day management skills and the company has supported me in operating outside my accustomed comfort zone. I'd never worked in a factory before joining the business and I was struck by the high level of support offered by others around me. The friendliness and openness of my colleagues was one of my first impressions when I arrived. There are always people who are willing to answer questions and, in fact, you're encouraged to ask them. Furthermore, when you join the graduate scheme, you are expected to make contacts at all levels of the business - from other graduates through to directors.
"It was important to me that I could talk about my job with pride. Cadbury has a rich history of ethical trading, involvement in the community and good relations with its workforce, so these were significant factors in my career choice. This year, the graduates organised a community project near Wroclaw in south-west Poland where we helped to renovate part of an orphanage, ran a sports day and held English lessons in a school. After two days of non-stop activity, 20 tired grads ended up in a tiny café-bar, where we spent the evening exchanging banter with the German-speaking Poles! It was the perfect end to a memorable trip and we returned feeling privileged to be part of the Cadbury community."