Nigel Williams

Nigel Williams

A senior Tesco manager has proved a demanding job and busy family life are no barriers to gaining a masters degree.

Nigel Williams, from Chesterfield, has this week celebrated his graduation from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston after gaining a merit in his MSc in Food Safety Management course.

The 48-year-old has spent the past four years studying on the eLearning course while travelling the world in his role as a senior technical manager for Tesco.

He said: “It’s the culmination of four years hard work that all the family has gone through, not just me, so I’m very pleased to have achieved a merit grade.”

Williams’ work takes him around Europe and East Africa so fitting in the time to complete the necessary reading and assignments has been difficult.

He said: “I have written, read and made notes on trains, planes, boats, in the car and even to the family’s disgust on holiday. The best time was when I was stuck on the M1 for six hours after a major incident and got loads of work done while those around me whinged at the hold up.”

He added: “The course enabled me to gain a greater and more in depth understanding in food safety and food safety management; this had a direct impact on my day-to-day role. The course modules covering International Law, Microbiology, Research and Haccp Construction, implementation and understanding are vital parts of food safety and used daily in my job. I got the most enjoyment from putting into place systems and processes that would not have been within my knowledge base had I not undertaking the course.”