Student Sensory and Product Guidance Technologist Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my work placement in the S&PG team as I was given many opportunities to broaden my skill set and understanding of the food industry. I was lucky enough to be a part of a close knit team and felt part of the team very quickly, and was valued as a colleague not just a student.

My team were very appreciative of the work I completed and were quick to acknowledge any extra work I had carried out. Outside of the team there was also certain colleagues who did value the work I did for them and I felt rewarded for my efforts when I received a special mention.

I always felt able to ask for help or guidance by both my mentor and my manager whenever I needed, which was quite frequently in my first couple of months! We had regular catch up sessions scheduled each month, which eventually we turned into meetings when I felt I no longer needed to ask for help. The team are very approachable and understanding.

Compared to other placement students in the company I was definitely the consistently most busy which was great, as my days went quickly and I was always motivated! Managing the panel in the mornings meant I had limited time in the afternoon to complete my work, which I found working under pressure made me perform better and learn quicker.

I was given a huge amount of responsibility from the onset, after my first month I was required to run the trained panel of 13 panelists independently, as well as take on my own projects from setting up to presenting to marketing and NPD teams. I also had my own databases to manage and helped run multiple training sessions.

I have developed hugely as a person over the last year, both personality wise and in transferable skills. My biggest fear has always been presentations and being put on the spot- and in this role I did on average a presentation a week, which has greatly boosted my confidence and ease of speaking to an audience. This is a life skill I will continue to build. In terms of academic skills I have seen in practise the sensory methodologies which I knew little about before, and will help me in my final year if I decide to do a sensory based research project.

The office varied as most NPD teams would spend the majority of their time in the kitchen or in the pilot plant, and I would be downstairs with panel in the mornings. As the job roles in the food industry involve a lot of travel the office was often very quiet- which suited me as I could get on with my work.

I felt it was organised well, we all got to attend manufacturing sites, flavour houses, laboratories, head office and student fairs. I wasn't left wishing I'd seen another part of the company as they really do give an insight to the whole thing! In terms of my own role I was thrown into the deep end with it, and I loved it.

There wasn't company meetings on personal development as such, more so from my university which gave a booklet that my manager was required to fill in once every 3 months. This allowed me to reflect on skills I was developing and write a personal progress report. The amount of responsibility I was given meant I was allowed to developed a huge amount.

After having a good overview of the company structure and careers available I am definitely interested in a future with Premier. I am hoping to complete my final year and get on a graduate scheme to further push myself before settling into a full time graduate job so we will see what the future brings!

In our own honest opinion.. we felt we made the social scene, as students we went out a lot on un-official socials! As there was a broad range of people of different personalities and ages socialising was not everyones thing, but we tried to organise what we could to get people involved.

I lived in Sheffield, the closest city to Worksop as I wanted an easy route home to London and also to be in a city which had a good atmosphere. I loved living in Sheffield, rent was so so cheap and the nightlife was great. I discovered a lot in the area, the peak district, gardens, Pedlars Market. Would definitely recommend. However the commute to work is long! (40 mins without traffic by car)

In Worksop there is nothing there, would not recommend living there if you are a student. Some nice pubs with good food but so isolated! Sheffield is great or Nottingham - pick one of those! Also helps if you drive but if not the train station at worksop is a 20 minute walk from work.

From my experience I loved the working life, as you leave work at work so you get your evenings and weekends to enjoy life! I joined a gym (which is something I never thought I would do) and started going twice a week to classes, which I loved. I am sure there are many other activities you can get involved in in a city like Sheffield, the universities are very happy for you to join societies even if you aren't from their uni.