Shift Operational Lead Review

The role includes all aspects of manufacturing from safety including auditing activities, safety leadership activities, leading investigations and reporting on them, production, including the checking of orders, managing position against plan, adherence to budgets, compliance and quality standards, as well as being the duty manager on-site during evenings, nights and weekends.

I have learnt lots of new skills in the role from leaderships skills, coaching and challenging others as well as looking at aspects of the job that from a plant point of view I had not explored. I am now expanding into the engineering side as I begin my journey through the apprenticeship.

The support from Nestle as a company has been great, but the university side I have struggled with. With the support of my mentor, we have raised several concerns about the level of teaching and learning from the Lincoln University side and hopefully this will help, but if it does not, I will not enjoy this programme at all.

The structure is set out poorly. Each module is set out way too short and quick. The on-site university weeks always fall at the end of each module and so far it feels pretty pointless to do it this way as the learning and lectures have already taken place, with support being sought out online.

I receive a huge amount of support from my employer, financially, with time off the job and with the work itself. They have been great, always offering support where needed and working with me and my mentor to challenge the university on certain things that have not been good about the programme.

The support from the lecturers has been pretty poor. So far, I have had a lecturer telling me I should already know everything that I am reading and it is easy, when clearly it is not. We challenged the university and this was thrown back at us because we should have learnt everything by now. Very disappointing.

At the moment, due to the workload and the level in a particular subject that was expected, I do not feel I have improved, just been more stressed. I am hoping as this programme goes further along, things change somewhat and lead me into a role that is linked better to the qualification.

As a company, we are big on events, charity fundraisers and new ideas to build team morale and confidence. There are always quizzes and questionnaires around and events in the canteen for employees to partake in, as well as annual family fun days for the employees and management to take part in. This particular site is very active in the local community also.

Yes

Nestle is a great company that nurtures talent and potential. I have been given opportunities I never thought I would have and am always grateful for that. The job security and money are also a factor when looking at employment, both of which are great. After all, the bottom line is we work to earn money and live comfortably.

Do your research. As an interviewer, I like to see someone who knows what they expect from a company or role, and someone who is genuinely interested in asking questions. There is no silly question when it comes to applying for a job. Do not panic or rush during the interview process, answering four questions calmly and well is better than answering six in a hurry, but missing key details within the answer.