Chris joined the graduate scheme in 2009 and started at Wissington factory on the Shift Operations Scheme. In 2010 Chris moved on to the Projects Development Engineering scheme at Newark and has since being involved with the engineering, maintenance and the capital projects team.

What attracted you to British Sugar?
The people I met at the careers fair and the enthusiasm they had when speaking about their job meant that I was kept interested in what they had to say about British Sugar. It lead to a lengthy discussion about all the aspects of the company, the most attractive being the multi-disciplined ever evolving processes that are used.

“At British Sugar you will be expected to use your core skills as a base to develop new ones”

The idea that I could be involved in anything from sugar manufacture, to power generation, to making bio-fuels. As British Sugar was always trying to discover new products or intuitive ways of improving the process, meant I could see a challenging job where one day would never be the same as the next.

What degree did you do and where?
Masters of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds

What has been the highlight or most impressive aspect of your career at British Sugar so far?
The biggest highlight of my career so far was being given the responsibility of leading a project regarding the safe delivery, storage, and dosing of a highly corrosive chemical. I got the chance to work with a variety of different people, some specialists in their field and got to learn aspects of engineering I had never previously covered before. I took the project from solution mapping, to concept, through to commissioning. It was a very rewarding project.

What training have you received since joining British Sugar?
Apart from the comprehensive training in sugar manufacture, British Sugar has given me the opportunity to go on a wide variety of training courses. These include personal effectiveness and management, NEBOSH, a National General certificate in health and safety, the equivalent of an NVQ level 3, Metallurgy, Bearings, Valves, Drives and Transmissions, Contractor Management and more. The list is quite extensive. I must add, that all of the courses have been very useful in my day to day life here.

What are your longer term aspirations and how do you see British Sugar helping you achieve them?
To achieve Chartered Engineer status and progress within the company to a senior engineering management role. I hope to gain some overseas experience in the process as well. The responsibilities given to me by British Sugar at an early stage have given me ample opportunity to demonstrate the key competencies needed to attain Chartership. Opportunities to develop are accessible and my drive to attain my goals are encouraged. Other graduates have gone on to factory manager roles, operations manager roles and other significant roles within the business.

Did you attend an induction programme?  Was this useful before you started your first day?
Yes, I found it very useful. It gave me the opportunity to meet the current graduate intake and start the team building process through some quite unusual but entertaining team building exercises. We were also given an overview of the business, the market, and the challenges we face from some senior directors from across the business.  I was really impressed that the CEO even made time to make a visit and talk about the company. It gave everyone the opportunity to meet our peers and discuss the graduate process and then gave us a good base to start factory life with safety training and a practical overview of the sugar manufacturing process.

Do you have any hints/tips/advice you would give to someone applying to British Sugar?
Yes, get a good breakfast before any assessment day, you’ll need to be able to demonstrate you can keep motivated, enthusiastic and can keep a level of concentration throughout its entirety. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. It show’s that your thinking and that your interested in what your hearing. And last but by no means least, if you’re expecting a desk job and/or to stay clean throughout a shift, this may not be the job for you!