Added: Over a year ago by Fujifilm
Future-focused Fujifilm is dedicated to investing in the best to benefit employees, customers and the business. That’s why it offers its employees in Broadstairs and Cambridge the chance to apply for a coveted company-sponsored degree awarded by the University of Greenwich. The Group specialises in the research, development, and manufacturing of ink and dispersions for digital printing.
When senior laboratory technician Francesca Wade graduated with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering Technology, she became one of only a few at the Broadstairs site with an engineering degree. Three of the people working in Cambridge are qualified engineers. The others that have done the part-time engineering degree in R&D have gone on to other roles in Broadstairs.
The employer-sponsored degree programme was one of the reasons Francesca joined the company in 2016: “I had A-levels in science and was looking at science roles. I wanted to find a job in science. During the interview at Broadstairs, they mentioned the company-sponsored degree programme.”
Fujifilm invites employees to apply for the scheme on day-release while working full-time. So, it’s a tribute to Francesca’s dedication to education and the company’s trust in her working hard that she was accepted onto the programme a year after starting her job.
Francesca says: “The company had faith that I would work as hard as possible, so when they invested that money in me, they had no fear. My entire day would consist of getting up, going to work, going home, revising, going to sleep and doing the same the next day. When the weekends came, it would be more revision. There are long nights, lots of essay writing and calculating, and people pull out because it’s too much for them. But I’d only been a year out of education, so I was in the right mindset. Also, my colleagues, family and partner were always supportive. One colleague helped me with my study on filtration, which is part of what we do.”
It usually takes five years for employees at Fujifilm to complete their company-sponsored degree courses. Some who arrive at the company with GCSEs are also offered the chance to do A-level equivalents such as a BTEC for two years before going on to the degree.
Francesca has more than repaid the company’s faith in her. She took a Foundation degree in engineering in the first three years, essentially a steppingstone for the final two-year bachelor’s degree. She earned a Distinction in the foundation and a First in the bachelor’s, achieving 99% in two exams and Firsts in all of them. She also won The Faculty of Engineering and Science Prize for Best Overall Performance Final Stage – technology-related programmes.
Francesca says: “I was meant to go straight to university from school, but the way it happened has worked in my favour. I have no excessive student debt and seven years of work experience.”
