Health, Safety and Wellbeing Management Graduate Review

I have had a fantastic experience working at Forterra. From day one I have been well supported and provided with training and guidance. I have been working on projects at sites across the country as part of my first 6 months, and am now based at 1 site for the next 6 months. There is a lot of variety in what I have done and all I need to do is ask if there is an area I want to learn more about.

The main responsibilities of the role within my first rotation has been to learn from shadowing my colleagues and to complete projects once I had enough knowledge to. This has included introducing a range of women's workwear to the company, which involved showing samples at every site, discussing concerns and needs and organising trials of the items prior to approval.
I have just begun my second rotation working at a single site, shadowing the Health and Safety lead for the site and assisting her in a large project. While I have only begun this earlier this week, I can already say it is a very different experience to working with the central team and I am learning about day to day operations fast.

I have been able to complete large projects which have been well appreciated by my team, but I also contribute in smaller ways as part of my day to day. For example, I bring IT skills and knowledge otherwise missing from my team and have become a go-to person to offer support and suggest new ideas.

My compensation package is fantastic and fairly remunerate's me for the work I do. My pay is fair and I have access to a sharesave and bonus scheme, as well as a company car!

I feel as though this role is preparing me for my future career very well. I have had the opportunity to attain a NEBOSH certificate within my first months working which has given me a solid base knowledge of health and safety. I am gaining experience of working in both central and site functions and building skills through experience and training opportunities.

I have had excellent support from HR, my line manager and Colleges. Throughout my first month in the role the whole graduate cohort spent a week at head office, then visited every site, accompanied by a HR contact we have known since our assessment centre. Even on a weekend, there has been someone who can help.

My work life balance is great! I have some freedom to influence my working hours, for example I can start early to finish early. Time out for things such as car repair and visiting a dentist is permitted. There is little expectation for me to work outside of my hours. When travelling to sites far away, my shift starts late and ends early to make up for some of the travel time beyond my normal commute.

The organisational culture, values and general atmosphere is good. Before I began I was anxious, as building materials manufacturing has historically not been a field many women enter. However, I now know that anxiety was unfounded. Everyone I know has been supportive and eager to offer their knowledge.

Forterra is generally good when it comes to equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. While historically the building materials manufacturing industry has not been inclusive, that has been changing and changing fast. There are still some legacy issues, such as a lack of women's facilities, but that is being changed and will soon not be an issue.

Yes

I have had a fantastic time so far on my grad scheme, and at the start of my second rotation am still excited and learning things all the time. The company offers good benefits and has excellent people working for them. I have learned a lot and had the opportunity to gain professional qualifications along side my hands-on day to day learning.

The recruitment process made my expectations of the role very clear. There have been no surprises.