I joined Greencore in early 2024 and I work in one of our factories in Hygiene. As an autistic colleague, I am eager to share my experience working here. For me autism is a mixture of sensory and communication experiences. It’s important to see the nuance of an autistic experience. This is not to say that all autistic experience is the same, but I am sharing a few elements of mine here.
Factories aren’t for everybody for the mere fact that some individuals do not enjoy the repetition, but honestly the routine nature of a consistent role within the factory is soothing for me. Once I grasp a task, though it may be a different processing time than others, I tend to put my full efforts into it. I am very passionate.
Processing, for me, relates to the verbal and practical understanding of a job such as stacking trays, knowing how many completes a stack, where they need to go etc. I understand my role, but sometimes a few things can happen that interrupt my capacity to continue, and a short break is key to sustaining my responsibilities, and this has been supported for me. These short-term breaks can prevent long-term overwhelm.
I have an incredibly supportive team of people around me that are open to listening to me. This brings up another aspect of autistic experience whilst at Greencore, downtime. Most people around me seem to engage in conversation or even be by themselves with headphones on in the canteen full of people, but I don’t always want to be around people and my colleagues understand that.
Stimming is something autistic people (and others) do to feel good, to express themselves and to regulate their input (sensory, emotional etc.) One of the ways I ‘stim’ is pacing. I find myself walking around the space, locating the best places to regulate my body and mind, to ‘recharge’ and have most recently found that sitting in Reception has been beneficial to my autistic ways of being. I am committed to being the best version of myself, I genuinely believe others want me to succeed and I feel empowered by their support. It is crucial to consider the environments people like me may need to provide the optimum results for all involved, from colleagues to customers and everyone in-between, and I am finding that here.

I found Greencore on my search to further my education, knowing that the best way I learn is on the job, and with family who worked in food manufacturing, I was excited at the opportunities available in our sector. I fell in love with Greencore from the moment I attended an assessment centre, having done a few, this experience was great, it was full of people sharing their knowledge, I was welcomed with warmth, the culture was clearly the place for me and I was sold.
That support continued as I joined, and particularly through covid, the care given to me from managers, mentors, talent and development teams, HR colleagues and many more. I have loved working in Operations, and a career highlight, along with achieving my programme aim of becoming a Zone Manager, was when I ran my production line, with my team of c30 colleagues for the first time solo, it’s a big responsibility but so motivating and rewarding.
I knew nothing about operations when I joined, but the experience, exposure and education I have be provided all set me up so succeed. I’ve been in my Zone Manager role for 3 years now, and during that time two things have been pivotal to my growth. First the support of a great mentor, who I shadowed, who was patient with me when I asked lots of questions, shared their knowledge, was unselfish with their time and cared about me. Second, the learning and growth opportunities we have, The Line Manager Framework has been excellent, helping me to learn about what’s expected of me as a manager, what behaviours are important, and giving me the knowledge I need to lead my team.
My advice, as you consider a career with us, is to know we’re a place that fosters growth, and there is always room to develop. I am not done yet either, my next ambition is Manufacturing Manager, and maybe one day I could be our next General Manager.

I chose Greencore as a place to build my career, recognising the scale of opportunities that would be available. I wanted to learn, work and build a career that gave me exposure and experience not just an academic route. The degree apprenticeship really appealed to me, the chosen university Nottingham Trent also attracted me, and I could see how the programme would give me everything I was looking for.
I joined on the commercial pathway, and have really enjoyed the variety of the programme, the support and the experience it has given me. I didn’t know what I wanted to do in my career, so the rotations, variety of different teams and different roles has enabled me to make a set of career choices. I have spent time in consumer insight, as an account executive and in procurement, and it’s all helped me decide that procurement is where my passion lies, and I’m now an NPD buyer.
I’m ambitious, and the pace, flexibility and variety at Greencore has helped me learn and develop, I’m confident in my career growth here. I want to be a role model for others, so many people are invested in me, I want to show others that the only barrier holding you back is yourself. I have truly been supported to achieve my personal and business goals, and the people are what make the difference here. The guidance, time and effort many of my colleagues have afforded me have been fundamental to shaping my journey. We have a culture where leaders are unselfish with their time, they encourage me to ask questions, seek to understand and they are giving with their time.
I know my colleagues want me to do well, they are invested in me, we help each other develop. There are tools, support, programmes and people who all help you to see that the opportunities are endless here. My advice to those considering a career with us, is our people are so special, there is never any judgement, you’re made to feel part of an ambitious community of people who want to make a difference.

I found Greencore on my career search, after having decided university full time wasn’t for me. I was attracted by the flexibility and variety on offer and the wide range of experiences I could take up. I didn’t know what I wanted to do in my career, so being able to try different roles was an ideal way to help me decide.
Since joining on the Degree Apprenticeship Programme, in Commercial I have experienced so many different facets of the function, from starting out in new product development and opening my eyes to the world of food, to shopper marketing and understanding more about consumers, and finally into sales and how we work with customers. It has helped me find my passion, and I am now pursuing a personal and professional passion of social media marketing.
I have been provided lots of development opportunities during my time, our Grow with Greencore offer is excellent, and I have been able to learn through education, experiences, role rotations, through to working with others and learning from them. I have been given lots of opportunities to build my confidence, a highlight was hosting our company annual awards ceremony, as well as getting involved in our group wide I&D catalyst groups and contributing beyond my role.
The aspect that’s helped me grow the most has been the opportunity to take on more responsibility, I have been encouraged and supported through mentorships to take on projects, activities, and get involved, each of these adding to my confidence, experience, and overall ability.
There is just so much on offer here at Greencore, the pace and nature of our work means there is always something you can learn from, and learning and growing is central to our DNA.
As you consider a career with us, it's great for you to know how inclusive we are, Greencore is a place for everyone, and you get to make your career what you want. The support, tools and investment is there for you, if you want to progress you have the choices, opportunities and platform to shine.

I joined Greencore as a Production Operative in September 2021. After working there for three months, I spoke with my manager and expressed a desire to develop, so I was trained to become a Machine Minder. I enjoy my work and my manager encourages people to learn new things and they understand how people work best. They show their appreciation towards my hard work and support me to progress in my role and career.
Everyone here is really nice to work with and I enjoy spending time with people whilst also learning new things. I have learnt lots of new skills in my role, and I aspire to become a Quality Auditor one day which I am confident Greencore will support me in that goal. My advice is to join Greencore and make sure your manager knows you want to go further at Greencore. If I can do this, then you can develop too.

I joined Greencore in 2014, initially working in one of our divisions as a commercial controller, and now lead a sales and food team for one of our biggest customers across the group, as a member of the leadership team. I was attracted to Greencore because of the diverse nature of the business meaning it was exciting whilst supplying amazing food across all the multiples.
Over that time,I’ve developed great relationships, been able to realise my potential, and progressed my career through taking up development opportunities. I have been able to grow as the business has. I have also been supported asI expanded my family and juggled the demands that two children and a career bring. I have been able to do this through support, mentorship,encouragement, and flexibility. Our business is fast paced, and we’ve a UK wide footprint, so being able to manage my own time, and balance the demands of work and home is important, and I have been supported in that. As a leader I now provide that for others, andI’m highly invested in the development and progression of those around me.
As I look back on my career, the key milestones/opportunities, that enabled me to step up have been alwaysremaining authentic in my approach and style which are a core part of my values. Building relationships are key to my success, having a great network of friends and support within the business whilst developing strong customer centric relationships is what really motivates me.
Some 10 years later, I am still learning and growing, and have the privilege of enabling others, be that through exposure, project activity, coaching or mentoring, I am encouraged as a leader to help others succeed.It’s a fundamental part of our DNA at Greencore, in factit’s one of our core behaviours, to own your development and invest in others and we’ve a wonderful range of development options available whatever your career focus may be.
As you consider a career with us, my advice is, go for it. It’s the people that make a business and Greencore have the best people in the industry!

I enjoy working at Greencore, it’s provided me so many diverse, and varied experiences over the years, and now as I look back over my career, I can see how taking up opportunities were fundamental steps in the transitions I made. My career has grown beyond what I could have imagined, moving from a site-based role, supporting the leadership team with ensuring compliance to now designing, delivering, and creating learning solutions for the whole group. I asked for development, and others saw my potential, and now I am in my dream role, working to build development and learning solutions that are making a huge difference to our people every day.
I have been supported personally and professionally over that time, encouraged, and enabled to complete my CIPD qualifications, been mentored, coached, provided opportunities for exposure, and experience to lead others. Now I’m in the fortunate place, I can do that for others, and most recently have developed my coaching experience, to become a Greencore coach. Now I am helping others on their career journeys too and developing my own team to achieve their CIPD qualifications.
There is so much opportunity to grow at Greencore, and I have been fortunate to benefit from that, and to undertake a role which gives me flexibility, stretch and challenge, but is hugely supported by my team, manager, and colleagues. I work in an amazing team, who are truly committed to one another.
As you consider a career with us, my advice is set yourself clear goals, and align development opportunities that come your way to them, helping you build skills and confidence. Be adaptable and open to change, don’t be afraid to grasp development opportunities that stretch you and take you out of your comfort zone.

I joined Greencore in 1995, at our Warrington site in a Quality Assurance role, taking responsibility for product quality. I was attracted to the position, as I could see the opportunity to develop and advance my career within the Technical department, and in line with the disciplines I acquired from my Food Sciences Degree. I soon moved into a Process Technologist role, which primarily involved upscaling of new products developed in the kitchen, taking them through factory trials and then to subsequent launch.
3 years later, I transitioned into supplier auditing, which involved a significant level of travel, but also close collaboration with our procurement team. It wasn’t long before I found myself taking another career step, and a move into the Purchasing department; firstly, in a team coordination and support role, then assisting with the set-up of a then newly formed the Indirects’ buying team and before long I became a Buyer.
As I look back, there have been several senior leaders who have advocated for me, seen my potential, and encouraged me to progress and step up. Those line managers and mentors have had a positive impact on my growth, not only by inspiring me to be ambitious and have belief in myself, but also empowering me to take on additional responsibility, whilst being there alongside should I need guidance and support. They were instrumental in the unlocking of my potential, and I am grateful for the role each has played in my career progression, and the confidence I have subsequently built.
I am almost at my 30 years’ service, and one thing that is true during all this time, is that this business is constantly evolving and does not stay the same for long. There are always new challenges which results in plenty of opportunity to both excel and grow your career. I absolutely know that whatever you strive to do or level you want to achieve, Greencore can support you to get there. What has kept me here?; the people, the connections, encouragement and support, all create a culture and environment that I have enjoyed being part of.
As you consider a career with us, my advice is to consider the opportunities to progress that will come your way whilst working in such a diverse and supportive business.

I joined Greencore having spent years working in the food to go industry supplying food service clients, I'd heard a lot about Greencore as a competitor and took the opportunity to move into a bigger business with more opportunity for growth.
I started out in our technical team and having expressed an interest in broader leadership and management, was selected to take part in our programme of development centres. These programmes, help you to understand your strengths, development areas and you receive targeted and meaningful feedback, mentorship, and support to build a development plan to help you reach your career goals. The process was very engaging and the usual feelings of imposter syndrome through change were lessened by the exposure and opportunity to grow, learn, and develop in a structured and supported way. The surrounding leadership team wanted me to do well, and this was evident in the time and investment around me.
For me this involved taking up the invite to embark on a management degree, sponsored by Greencore. In tandem, I started to get more experience in the day to day by moving out of my specialist area and into a broad leadership role. The development, and exposure really made a difference, and before long I was leading a site.
Once I moved into the General Manager role, my development continued, and I now lead a more complex site. I was supported to a different site, whilst staying in my chosen home, and they support me to balance the time and travel commitments.
My learning hasn't stopped there, I'm now part of developing the programme for our next generation of talent! It is so rewarding to be an alumni, able to share my experience, wisdom, and advice to those now taking a similar path. I really believe in this programme, its unique, and is delivering great results. I've also taken part in mentoring, reverse mentoring, and I’m a coach, all opportunities I have been offered to help me be an even better leader. I’m personally not done yet, I'm soon to be embarking on a level 7 qualification.
As you consider a career with us, my advice is to take the opportunity, we have award winning training programmes and multiple opportunities to grow and develop your career. Greencore is a real platform for self-led learning, and they have proven to match my growth and development aspirations as evident in my fast-tracked career development.

I moved to the UK to take up an opportunity at Greencore, having finished my education in Poland, and I haven’t looked back. I’ve now been here for 17 years and built a rewarding and enriching career in my chosen specialist field, Technical.
When I joined the business, I started as a Line Operative, learning the skills needed to manufacture our products, and was then promoted into a Line Coordinator role, so I then started to run the line and support my colleagues. This was a great springboard into my next promotion, and I moved into the quality part of the team.
I had always wanted to make that move, and it was about building the necessary skills and experience, so when an opportunity arose, I had the experience needed. In the Technical team I have worked across many varied roles, as Quality Inspector, Quality Officer and most recently into Technical Manager.
My progression was largely influenced by my colleagues, and it was a Shift Manager who saw my appetite and passion for Technical, and believed I had the potential needed to succeed. They invested time in me and gave me opportunities so I could show them what I could do.
After making the move I grew into the role with the coaching and encouragement of the Technical Controller who really believed that I could succeed. That’s the great thing about Greencore, it’s the people, they really want you to get on, and are willing to back you and help is always available.
My advice, as you consider whether Greencore is a place for you, would be go for it, if you want to develop, or have a vision for where you want to be, then our people will see it. Greencore is a place you can build a strong career, there is so much opportunity.

I joined Greencore in 2020 on an early careers programme in HR and was warmly welcomed into the team. I choose Greencore because their values and goals around people at the core, development and sustainability agenda aligned with my own. I saw the early careers opportunity and knew it was the right decision for me as I wanted to progress my educational study but also gain valuable experience at the same time.
I haven’t looked back, and during the last 4 years I have been able to experience lots of different roles across HR, from generalist to specialist roles, projects and assignments, and travel around our sites and meeting our people.
Greencore have provided me with excellent exposure, support and invested in my education and well-being. During that time, I have benefited from great mentors, who have helped me define what career path I want to take and most recently I have completed my programme, got my degree, and moved into a role where I get to give back all this learning.
I am now using my experience, and the valuable knowledge I have gained to help others like me, join Greencore, develop, grow, and build a meaningful career. I have the privilege of speaking to all our prospective candidates and giving them a true sense for what were like to work with. I help them feel at ease, as others did for me and see them progress and thrive.
The development support I have received has been superb, and I now sit as part of the team who build and create it all, and I am proud to be playing such a key role in laying the path for others to grow with Greencore.
Even though my formal degree education is almost complete, learning is something that happens every day here, and I have been given great responsibility in all my roles, and freedom to be creative. I am proud to be helping to connect more people to Greencore through my current role as Early Careers and Skills Specialist, and leading activities such as our communication on channels such as TikTok is helping me reach more people every day. You can follow us here @greencoregroup.
As you consider a career with us, my advice is believe in yourself, never give up and keep asking questions!

I got my first job at Greencore in September 2018. I was a Picker at DTS Hatfield and had only planned to stay in England for a few months. Now, 7 years later, I have had the privilege of excelling my Manufacturing career through 6 roles across Operations, Logistics and Commercial at different sites, working with amazing peers and managers along the way.

After a short time in Hatfield, I quickly exceeded site targets that left me wanting more challenging projects. I shared my hunger to grow, develop and take on a different role and Greencore helped me accomplish this. When Tamworth Depot opened in 2020, I became a Warehouse Administrator and then I stepped into the Stock Controller role, before quickly progressing to Admin Team Leader. A new factory environment with different colleagues all helped create new learning experiences that accelerated my career growth. It was also the first time I had managed a team.

As someone who is ambitious and driven, I knew I wanted to develop my skills and knowledge further by broadening my portfolio. I was interested in exploring the world of Finance and had transferable excel and data analysis skills from my time in Administration. However, I had no direct finance experience. As a result, I was offered a trial secondment in Logistics as a Finance Analyst, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I learnt about the complexities of the wider business world and the impact that our fluctuating market has on food manufacturing. It was at this point I realised that finance was for me. I applied for the permanent Finance Analyst role, which I was offered, and then Greencore invested in my CIMA Accountancy qualifications.

When I became Senior Finance Analyst in DTS, I tried to give back to Greencore by aiding the development of others. Many of my previous peers still contact me today to ask for help or advice and I am happy to take the time to support them, just like my line managers and peers have done for me. I am now at the start of a new learning journey as Senior Finance Analyst in Commercial and look forward to embedding myself into a new team.

My end goal is to be Chief Financial Officer at Greencore. I know I have development needs to address, but with the continued learning opportunities that Greencore offers and my tenacity, I know it is possible.

If you are considering a career with us, know that Greencore recognises hard work and individual efforts and will, in return, give you the tools and opportunities to succeed in a safe space. I am a believer that you can do anything if you put your mind to it and Greencore helps make this possible.

(Peter, Paul’s son and Jake’s father) I started working at Greencore in 2003 at the age of 18, spending the first few years learning many of the roles in the low-risk department at Greencore’s Wisbech site. I often found myself reviewing processes to create more efficient ways of working, whilst delivering the same result. I was offered a step up as team leader in low risk and, eventually took on various leadership roles, including running the department. I accepted a planning role about 6 years ago, taking the same approach to increase process effectiveness. I was given the time, tools and prerogative I needed to start making changes to the systems in planning and procurement, the impact being significant.
Now, in my 23rd year, I've seen the company evolve into one focused on quality and a culture of trust and excellence. I’m proud to witness this firsthand as my son shares his excitement from his work experience in the development kitchens, often coming home with stories of new recipes, techniques and lessons learned.
(Paul, father of Peter, grandfather of Jake) Before joining Greencore, I was a steward in the merchant navy working on a ferry running from Felixstowe to Holland for about 10 years, then spent 10 years at Bernard Matthews, followed by 20 years working for Bakkavor. Having been at Greencore for 2 years in the despatch team, I enjoy sharing my ideas and solving problems with the support of my son, Peter, as we both work across Supply Chain. We tend to both be curious in our approaches, often asking why, with an urge to find a solution. With my experience and Peter’s IT skills, we make quite the pair. A big attraction piece for joining Greencore was that we get to drive change from the bottom up and the team are so welcoming.
(Jake, son and grandson) I am currently undertaking my college work experience at Greencore, operating as a chef under the guidance of Chris, our head development chef. I am quite meticulous and can sometimes get in a muddle if something doesn’t go to plan, but the team give me the reassurance that making mistakes is all part of the process. I had a (positive) culture shock when I began at Greencore, the atmosphere is different to a professional kitchen. I feel very supported and have been given the opportunity to lead on making things like jam and Pearl Barley Risotto. I’ve learnt a lot about time management and have been able to put my learnings from here into practice at college, which is a huge bonus.
Collectively, we believe there are a lot of prospects at Greencore, it is why working here has become a family affair. We would advise anyone starting out their career to come with a vision, but to not put too much pressure on themselves - acknowledge the bigger picture but embrace the short and medium term first.