Student NPD Technologist Review
at Premier Foods
Placement (10 Months+)
Worksop
Review Submitted: July 2021
Overall Rating
4.3 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
3/5
-
Overview of Role
4.3/5
-
Skills Development
5/5
-
Support and Guidance
4.5/5
-
Company Culture
4/5
-
Overall Experience
4/5
-
Future Career Prospects
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
Sample making
Receiving ingredients & trying them in development
Meetings eg. with suppliers, with marketing about projects, with the team / wider business
Costings
Factory/pilot trials
Ingredient auditing
Shelf life testing
Tastings
Benchmarking sessions
Receiving ingredients & trying them in development
Meetings eg. with suppliers, with marketing about projects, with the team / wider business
Costings
Factory/pilot trials
Ingredient auditing
Shelf life testing
Tastings
Benchmarking sessions
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
As a student NPD technologist, you are well integrated into the team and are treated as a technologist. The level of responsibility given really depends on the projects and workload available - some students got their own projects to lead and manage while some students were given side projects to provide new ideas and solutions. Both are valuable experiences, however the responsibility was not matched evenly across teams
Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
3/5
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
My confidence has grown massively, as well as my ability to manage tasks and plan my time effectively. I am much better at working with other colleagues, asking for help where I need it and I find that I am much better at approaching people. My presentation skills have improved vastly.
How would you rate the training provided during your experience?
4/5
How would you rate your development of industry-specific skills during the experience?
4/5
How would you rate your development of personal / soft skills during the experience?
5/5
Please rate how these skills have helped you in your career development
4/5
Support and Guidance
How much support and guidance did you receive during your placement / internship?
Monthly 1:1 with manager and very frequent communication - almost daily emails. I felt like I could always drop my manager an email or a quick call if ever I needed some help or guidance and would always get a response quickly no matter how busy they were! I also had a great mentor who had a wealth of knowledge (and more time) on day to day tasks where my manager couldn't always help
How would you rate the support and guidance from your line manager?
5/5
How would you rate the support and guidance from the wider team?
5/5
Company Culture
What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
The company had a great culture and I always felt valued as a student. All of the staff were very friendly and really worked as a team. The head of NPD also used to do a monthly call with all NPD sites sharing news and ideas which made it feel more like a community and that our work was really valued by the senior team
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
5/5
How would you rate the social opportunities?
3/5
How would you rate the diversity initiatives?
5/5
How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?
5/5
Overall Experience
To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
I really enjoyed my placement, it has given me such valuable skills and experience going into my final year. I am so much more confident in myself and feel proud to have completed my placement. Although I have realised I am now not sure that a career in NPD is for me, it has still been great fun and a brilliant learning curve
Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
4/5
Please rate how your experience met your expectations
4/5
Future Career Prospects
Please rate the future employment prospects at Premier Foods
4/5
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Premier Foods to a friend?
Yes
What advice would you give to others applying to Premier Foods
Presentable, on time and well organised. Show that you are keen and have an interest in the wide product portfolio. At this level it is less about your knowledge, but more about your skill set and personality so make that shine through.
