Industrial Placement - Supply Chain at Unilever

It has been a fantastic year at Unilever. Across the course of the year I have been fortunate enough to experience a range of areas within the business which as a result has helped me decide the direction I would like to take my career.

Being given a large amount of responsibility from the beginning made me feel valued by my colleagues. My work had a direct impact on the factory floor which was received well by different departments.

The projects which I was tasked with gave me the independence of deciding how best to approach the problem. Whenever I needed support or guidance it was there, in the shape of my manager or someone more specialized in the area I was working on. People across the site are very helpful and always make time when they can.

It would vary from day to day. In the first couple of months I would spend the majority of the day down on the factory floor learning the process and the variables which impact the production process. Once I was in full swing of things I would be busy throughout the whole week (there was always something to be getting on with!).

I was given a large amount of amount of responsibility which allowed me to really get stuck in from the beginning. I had clear targets which did change across the year due to a particular project becoming a priority.

This has been an invaluable development experience for both my soft and technical skills even though the role was not directly tied into my degree.

The environment in the office was fantastic, based within the management office where I had direct contact with the different departments I would be working with.

There was a wealth of knowledge on the ‘Degreed’ platform Unilever have which helped the day to day work as well as access to a number of physical guides.

I hope to be able to return to Unilever through a direct entry after completing my final year at university.

Lived at home and commuted to work each day.