"The graduate programme has a fantastic training scheme which covers soft and hard skills."
Degree studied and university:
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Current Role at 3M:
Process Engineer at 3M Gorseinon, South Wales
What attracted you to join 3M?
I was looking for a sandwich placement during my University course, and I applied for a lot of roles in a number of different industries. However the 3M assessment centre stood out above all the others, there was a camaraderie and desire to nurture and develop talent which really appealed to me.
My placement year, working at 3M Aycliffe, was a great experience which I was really sad to see come to an end. When it was time to look for a graduate placement at the end of my degree, returning to work at 3M was an easy choice to make. Everyone I have worked with has been understanding and they are always happy to help out, I could not ask for more from work colleagues.
What have you done since joining 3M?
On my placement I worked on a newly-introduced manufacturing line, which made mask cartridges. As a new piece of machinery, there were countless improvements to be made, and every day offered a different challenge. As well as the day-to-day work, I worked on a number of big cost-saving projects and made significant step change improvements.
The graduate programme has a fantastic training scheme which covers soft and hard skills. Working in 3M Gorseinon offers an incredibly diverse workload, as I have worked across all the manufacturing lines on site. Working with mature lines doesn’t always offer the incredible step changes that new lines do, but the opportunities are certainly still there to be found.
What do you enjoy most and least about your job at 3M?
Most - 3M are great at giving you the autonomy to manage your own work; you identify or are asked to solve given problems, and then it is your responsibility to drive solutions. There is always the opportunity to prove yourself at 3M.
Least - Graduates tend to be divided among the 3M sites, so you do not always get to see the others outside of training, unless you are based at one of the larger sites.
