Why did you apply for the Danish Crown Graduate Programme?

I applied to the Danish Crown Graduate Programme as I have a passion for working with food, and I have always wanted to try living and working in a different country than the UK, specifically Denmark as I am half Danish, despite not speaking the language. The Graduate Programme also allows for rotations throughout the entire business, which is super exciting to be able to experience and learn all about the full value chain of Danish Crown’s business.

Your background:

I have just graduated from Loughborough University in the UK with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering. I have also had experience working within foods and consumer goods organisations in the past, working for Unilever and Mondelez International during my university summers and placement year. Outside from work I love playing and watching sport – even if this is confusing my fellow Danish graduates watching rugby together!

What does a typical workday look like for you?

Within OPTIMA there is no such thing as a typical day! But usually, my day will start with catching up with some emails and messages, before I head into the factory with the team to discuss the previous days production. Often in the afternoon we will run some workshops with the production leaders to implement some new initiatives to improve the efficiency or production manning, for example. In the evening we will have dinner as a team as we are based on site away from home in the week, before heading back to a hotel for some well-deserved rest!

What is the best project or task you have worked with so far?

I think the best project I have worked on is the rollout and training within the new bacon site in Rochdale in the UK. It has been great to be able to train the new leaders within the factory in the OPTIMA ways of working and get to know how the new site will run. As a part of this I was given the responsibility to lead an introduction workshop for one of the tools, which was super exciting to do given I am still new to the team.

What skills make a good Danish Crown graduate?

I think that a good enthusiasm to get stuck in and learn is the key to being a good graduate. You are often faced with situations that you have not been in before, often in an area that you have not had experience from university, so being excited to learn and get up to speed quickly is a key skill. Other than that, I think being able to stand up and ask questions and for help when needed is also super important, as it is not expected that you know everything straight away.

What was it like being a new employee at Danish Crown?

It’s a great company to work in, and the welcome to the company has been really good. The introduction week with the fellow graduates is a great way to meet each other and learn lots about the whole organisation that we will be working in. As I am not a native Danish speaker, it was reassuring to meet my team, and know quickly that speaking and working in English was not a problem, and they were super keen to help me get settled in and up to speed quickly.

How do you experience the community among you fellow graduates?

The graduate community here is one of the best things about being a Graduate here at Danish Crown. Not only have we been able to get to know each other within our batch, we also got to know the older graduates to share experiences together. This has been great to hear about the graduate experience from further on within the programme, how they managed the challenges of the programme and also let off some steam together.

What is the best thing about working/being a graduate at Danish Crown?

I think the best thing about being a graduate here is the ability to work in three completely different departments throughout the two-year programme. Despite only being on my first rotation, I have already learned so much about the business and how it works, not only from my own rotation, but from discussing our rotations together with my fellow graduates in my batch. This is something that I am excited to keep continuing to do as we go through the programme together.

Tell us something that others might not know about you?

I have been rowing for 10 years, and it has been the only sport I can say I have been somewhat successful at as my hand-eye coordination growing up was very bad! As part of this, I have spent many long winters with my team-mates looking to make a boat go faster for the summer racing season, teaching me resilience and the joy of chasing the ‘perfect’ stroke. I have also competed and won medals at national regattas within the UK and been on trials for the junior national team. Despite this being a minority sport, it is one that I would highly recommend anyone try.

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