Alistair completed his MEng in Chemical Engineering at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, before joining our Graduate Programme in August 2021.
In school, I was particularly interested in maths, physics, and chemistry. Originally, I was heart-set on studying Meteorology and becoming a TV weatherman. However, I started to lean towards the idea of working in oil and gas after I realised how transferable my subjects were into chemical engineering, and this sector especially. Therefore, I applied to the course at Heriot-Watt and found myself there in September 2015.
The month after, the oil and gas market crashed, and so too did my confidence in my job prospects. I found myself not enjoying the degree for a few years as it felt like I wasn’t working towards anything in the long run.
It wasn’t until my third year, when I went on a Scotch Whisky distillery tour (my dad was the tour guide) that I recognised the parallels between chemical process engineering and distilling. This was the spark of my now burning passion for the spirit drinks sector – which enabled me to enjoy my degree once more by focussing all my interests into the brewing and distilling industries.
As part of my degree, I completed a ten month internship with an established company in the industry in one of their most important production sites. It was a huge learning experience for me, working with many of the spirits and products that I’ve come to know and enjoy with my closest friends. During the internship, I became familiar with an engineering company who did a lot of work on the site – Briggs of Burton.
After doing my research, and learning about the kind of projects that Briggs are involved in, I simply knew they were a company that I had to apply for. To the consumer, Briggs of Burton may be an unfamiliar name, but when I learned that they had completed engineering projects in some of my favourite whisky distilleries - and in some cases, designed them entirely from scratch – I realised that really, this was my dream job. Not only using my degree in an exciting industry, but knowing that I would be directly involved in my biggest passion.
I loved the fact that, even though Briggs were a growing company – they still trusted a more traditional application process; cover letter – CV – interview – offer. Compared to other companies I applied for that year, where I was rejected for choosing the wrong shape in a puzzle, or some other useless psychometric system that didn’t measure my passion and commitment, Briggs was amazing.
Being able to talk to somebody face to face, tell them about my knowledge and experience, and discuss some engineering – it was completely refreshing, and I feel it enabled me to be the best version of myself.
In a way, it was quite difficult actually. I was kind of thrown in the deep end – and straight into a fast-moving project. Although I often felt the pressure in this, I was always able to reach out to my team of experienced Process Engineers, and get their advice and insight. In hindsight, I’m so glad this is the way I started my career with Briggs. It helped me to quickly understand the way we worked, and prepared to me to be on the front foot in my next few projects.
I’m not sure where to start to be honest! There are so many things that I believe I can achieve with Briggs. Through the company, I hope to gain my IChemE chartership, complete many process designs, and go as far in the company as I can. Being obsessed with whisky, I would love to be the Briggs ‘whisky guy’ – offering expertise in those projects, but I have plenty to keep my focussed for now.
There are loads of best things. But the best thing is knowing that every bit of work I do will be going directly towards my greatest passion. That’s an incredibly rewarding feeling.
Other ‘best’ things include our amazing new employee benefits system, the technical training and professional support available, and the flexible working system which enables me to do things like going for a morning swim or lunch time run around my work. That’s important to me.
Yes. What more is there to say?
Briggs of Burton are heavily involved in far more sectors than just Brewing and Distilling. So if you are keen on Pharmaceuticals or Food Processing for example, there are loads of opportunities for you. Find your area of interest, and devote every minute you have towards developing your knowledge of it.
Gain every minute of work-based experience that you can, be it in a part time job, or volunteering for a society. It will go a huge way in your application with Briggs. Above anything – just be yourself. The authenticity of Briggs’ people is something that definitely stands out to me.
