Case studies : Commercialisation technologist: Colin

Colin has an MEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Glasgow and an MPhil in Industrial Systems, Manufacture and Management from the University of Cambridge. He is a commercialisation technologist and is on a three-year graduate training scheme with Cadbury.

My passion has always been confectionery: I can’t think of many other products which make so many people so happy. Upon finishing my MEng in Mechanical Engineering, I applied to several companies but unfortunately was not offered a job with a confectionery manufacturer.

I decided to do an additional qualification, an MPhil in Industrial Systems, Manufacture and Management, which proved invaluable. It gave me highly relevant experience, new industrial links and boosted my confidence and professional outlook. Without a doubt both my qualifications helped me to secure my dream job as a commercialisation technologist with Cadbury. The application process consisted of online applications, psychometric tests, interviews and an assessment centre.

My engineering degree has helped with my understanding of materials, and concepts such as viscosity and density. It also gave me a good mathematical grounding and experience of using spreadsheets. My second degree improved my project management skills as well as my ability to work with people of different levels within an organisation - from the shop floor worker to the managing director.

I am currently on the second year of Cadbury’s graduate training scheme. For the first eight months I worked as a process engineer and then moved to a role where I managed a production team of 11 people. I am currently working on a complex project which involves moving a factory from the UK to Eastern Europe. I split my time between our offices and plants throughout the UK and I will soon spend a month in Poland.

I don’t have specific plans for the future but am trying to make the most of my graduate training scheme. I am keen to move into a marketing role in order to learn a new side of the business. In the longer term I would like to work overseas for Cadbury.

I enjoy my job for several reasons. Above all, my colleagues work to a very high standard and they are also very ‘real’ and approachable. I also find it very exciting to work on products that have such high visibility in shops and in the media and are so fast changing. (I might also add that I am very popular amongst friends when I arrive at parties with samples of chocolate.) A challenging aspect of my role is the time pressures and tight deadlines under which we operate.

My advice to students and graduates is to get as much work experience as possible .When I was a student, I taught at a sailing club, worked in a biscuit factory, had two summer industrial placements and also did a lot of temping jobs. All these jobs allowed me to develop my people skills and my ability to handle myself in a variety of situations.