ONE OF the biggest advantages of the MDS programme is the opportunity to experience several different jobs at different companies, providing a wider understanding of the needs and challenges facing the fresh food and produce industry.
It also helps trainees identify their own strengths and weaknesses, and special areas of interest which they may wish to focus on later.
The intensive two-year programme sees trainees complete four six-month assignments, or secondments, to gain broad experience and develop a wide range of essential skills, complemented by accredited classroom learning and optional professional management qualifications.
For Christine Drew, a biochemistry graduate mid-way through her first secondment as packhouse team leader at exotics importers Wealmoor, it was too good to miss. “MDS offers a massive learning opportunity, the chance to meet four-times as many people and do four-times the work I might otherwise have done,” she said. “The knowledge and networking potential is enormous and will be invaluable as I develop my career.
“While it was a case of going straight in at the deep end, in terms of learning and experience it has exceeded my initial expectations. I joined MDS hoping it would give me a well-rounded understanding of the industry and so far that has certainly proved to be the case.”
At Wealmoor, Drew heads a team of up to 15 people on the morning shift, which means getting up around 4am for a 5.15am start, six days a week. She finishes her shift at 2.15pm and completes any necessary paperwork before going home. As a farmer’s daughter she is used to the early starts, but it does have its downside: “It’s a nightmare on Friday nights when my friends are going out and all I want to do is sleep,” she added.
Her biggest challenge has been communication - in its widest sense. “Many of the employees speak English as a second language and I’m also conscious this is my first experience of managing people, so I want to do the right thing. Added to that, my knowledge of some of the more exotic fruit and vegetables is limited, so I need the support of my team,” she said.
Drew has embraced the challenge. “I like the fact it’s a demanding role. I am responsible for people and processes and I am involved in real decision-making, which is very satisfying. I respect the experience and knowledge of the people I work with and hopefully it works the other way, too.”
Charlie Kisby completed MDS last year and is now in his first full-time post as organics farm manager with G’s Growers in Cambridgeshire. His links with MDS remain strong and he supports the trainee selection process by sharing his own experiences and observations.
“MDS is not an easy option,” he said. “It is two years of hard graft, which can be quite stressful at times as we are given a lot of responsibility at a very early stage. But that is also the best part about the programme, as it builds self-confidence, self-awareness and makes us think like a manager very quickly.
“When I look back at my first secondment, I know I could have handled certain things differently and would probably have achieved better results. The key thing is that you do make progress, and I finished the programme a very different person - for all the right reasons.”
Kisby’s secondments took him to Vitacress as assistant traffic manager; Barfoot’s of Botley where he realised that growing/harvesting was the area he wanted to specialise in; Flamingo UK where he worked in sales and procurement as a supply chain executive and finally to G’s, as organics farm manager - the job he was later offered permanently.
Along the way, Kisby notched up some impressive achievements - including setting a new record for the highest number of sweetcorn cobs harvested in one day on a Barfoot’s farm in Hampshire.
Since starting his full-time post at G’s, the acreage for organic salad crops has doubled and his MDS experience has been invaluable when liaising with other parts of the business. “I hoped from the start the MDS training would help me find a challenging and dynamic job with responsibility. After I graduated - with a biology degree from York - I wanted something challenging in agriculture but really didn’t know where to start. MDS gave me everything I wanted - and more.”
So, how does he see the future? “I want to complete the Chartered Institute of Management diploma and develop my agronomic interests with further qualifications like BASIS and FACTS. I love the work, and feel good about doing a wholesome and necessary job; after all, everyone has to eat.”
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