Mitchell Hall
I am a… graduate management trainee
“The applied knowledge teaching style that is taught at Harper Adams has made the integration into industry easy,” says Mitchell Hall, who graduated with a BSc (Hons) Business Management with Marketing in 2012. Having spent his placement year working for the university’s award-winning catering department, Mitch is now building on his considerable knowledge and experience as a Graduate Management Trainee with Hilton Meats Retail.
“Work placement improved my career opportunities as it furthered my knowledge of the food industry, which I feel has helped my transition into the sector,” says the 23-year-old, adding: “The teaching at Harper Adams is excellent, especially as a lot of modules are applied to industry. Courses are small in comparison to other universities, which allows you to interact with other members of your course. It makes for a better experience altogether.”
Graduate training schemes are a great way to move into management early in your career. Most allow graduates to experience many aspects of both the role and the organisation as a whole, and can last between one and two years, usually combining on-the-job training with more formal classroom-based learning – often at postgraduate level. Needless to say there is a lot of competition for places, so gaining a good degree, meaningful work experience and having a positive attitude and a willingness to work hard is a must. Mitch ticked all of these boxes when he applied for Hilton Meats scheme.
The company told us: “We are looking for potential senior managers of the future. Mitch was selected because he had innovative thought processes, and this will be an important factor for successful senior managers. The business requires that applicant has a good academic qualification - the subject is not so important, as Harper Adams University has a good reputation for preparing graduates for industry.”
Over the two years of the scheme Mitch, who is originally from Wolverhampton and now lives in Cambridgeshire, will work in different departments of the business (such as new product development, purchasing and production) to understand the structure and how each area is linked. He will also study an MSc degree in Meat Science and Technology, sponsored by the company.
For further information on Hilton Meats’ graduate training scheme visit www.hiltonfoodgroupplc.com