In this article Greencore Trainee Manager, Abdullah Wakil, shares his views on his recent experience with IGD’s Fast Track Programme in Food & Grocery, and reflects on a recent session where he, along with other Greencore Trainee Managers, had the opportunity to present to Greencore’s UK CEO and HR Director.
What was your experience like working through the IGD Fast Track?
- To be completely honest, at the beginning I didn’t know what to make of it because it is not the kind of thing or data that I’d use in my day to day tasks at work, apart from the PowerPoint and Excel training. So I had to work out the correlation between the content and my role in operations as a Trainee Manager. Once that has been established it all started to fall into place. So it was like a window out of the factory environment into the wider section of my role over the years. Navigating through the course was easy. I contacted IGD more than once with queries and they answered every question. I also enjoyed the event in London, where we presented to members of Greencore’s senior team, and wouldn’t hesitate in joining more Greencore supported courses with IGD or other bodies
What was the most interesting thing you learned?
- The scale of the industry & its daily impact. I’ve been working at Greencore since September and I am more familiar with the food sector now but was unaware of the scale of the industry and its impact on society. In addition to that, I liked the module about future shoppers, since it is a research that puts the content into real life perspective and make us think about what we could do in regards to that, especially with regards online shopping. I’ve chosen this module because it is a part that I will face in real life and it feels tangible to me
What were the top 3 things you got out of the session?
- The discussions we had after each presentation, which I enjoyed the most and would have loved for it to last longer. Listening to different opinions and seeing things from different perspectives. Even the questions asked enhanced the correlation between IGD content and our roles, which I found satisfying. So I can say that it got me thinking about things I hadn’t considered before
- The chance to meet senior management and to be given the opportunity to contribute in such session. When we are in a factory it is different and way more line focused, especially now as we are still learning. So I valued this as a chance to develop on a different level and it gave me a boost to stay focused. It was also a great challenge for me to give a presentation and participate in a discussion with senior management.
- The information on Greencore’s Manufacturing Excellence, which was presented at the session
