Regaynor
Johal

"The unique nature of this course attracted me the most – it is a three-year, fast-track course with the second year spent in industry gaining valuable experience while studying alongside this, rather than a traditional four-year sandwich course. 

"NTU was also my local university so it made sense to stay local and not incur extra costs to move away. The course had limited students on it so students got to know one another easily across all years. This was really useful for relationship building in year and across years; there was a sense of being close. The mentoring system that we had between the third years and first years worked very well, as I was always able to get advice when needed and help when applying for placements for my second year.

"The placement year was invaluable to me in terms of preparing me for employment – this was the turning point for me. At first I wasn't sure which industry or sector I wanted to work in. However my placement year gave me the opportunity to spend time in different departments of a large manufacturing organisation so I spent time in Production, Operations, Logistics and Marketing. 

"After spending time in each department, I knew that I enjoyed the manufacturing sector and particularly thrived in the Operations function – this became the career choice for me and has directly led to my achieving my current role with United Biscuits.

"I feel I have grown immensely at NTU! I went from being shy and lacking in confidence to being a really confident individual in both my personal life and work life. I gained the most confidence on the placement year as I had a lot of responsibility and needed to be accountable for my work. Being in a male-dominated environment probably helped too as I needed to learn quickly to speak up and hold my own if I wanted to be taken seriously.

"Since graduating, the biggest initial challenge for me was obtaining a graduate scheme. After a range of assessment centres and interviews, I was lucky enough to gain a two-year position with Kerry Foods in Northern Ireland. This meant relocating which was a daunting challenge for me but I settled down quickly and really enjoyed both the job and Northern Ireland. 

"However, after ten months in the role I did not feel challenged enough and felt that I wasn't stretched to my full potential, I knew I could do more. I decided to take the brave step of resigning from my role to move back home to England where there were many more opportunities for me. Fortunately, I very quickly obtained an exciting and challenging role with United Biscuits as their Supply Chain Excellence Lead.

"On a personal note, moving to Northern Ireland without knowing anyone there is something I would never have had the confidence to do if I had not completed the BA (Hons) Management Degree. The course really helped me grow as a person and raised my confidence levels beyond my wildest expectations. When I look back now, I really don't recognise myself as that shy person I once was.

"There is no such thing as a typical day at United Biscuits – every day is completely different which I love. Currently I am focusing on the use of Visual Management to engage and encourage continuous improvement on the shop floor. I have plans to visit different sites and work with different teams to expand my knowledge of the business. It's all very exciting! 

"My plans are to continue learning and progressing in my role at United Biscuits and this includes developing my skills and qualifications in Lean Management. I'm looking forward to a long career with United Biscuits!

"My advice would be to firstly pick this course due to the fantastic opportunities you are provided with at an early age. Also this course really will give you that special something that will make you stand out from the crowd and will provide you with lifelong skills."