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Working at Puratos: what does trainee Katrien Roggen do?

22 Jan 2018

Life at Puratos
Consumer Insights

More than 8000 people work at Puratos, in many different professions, all over the world. What do these people do exactly? What do their working days look like and what do they like most about their work? In this episode, you can read everything about Katrien Roggen (24) from Belgium. Katrien started her career as a global graduate trainee at Puratos after her studies.

Why did you opt for the Global Graduate Traineeship at Puratos?

“I came across Puratos during my studies. When I was studying Bioscience Engineering at the Catholic University (KUL) in Leuven, Belgium, I met someone from the R & D department of Puratos and discovered what an interesting and active company it is. After obtaining my Masters, I went on to study General Management at the Vlerick Business School in Leuven. They often organise job fairs and Puratos was promoting the Global Graduate Trainee Programme there. I immediately saw that as a unique opportunity. I’m very interested in bread, pastry and chocolate and Puratos has an impeccable reputation: they’re innovative, they follow all the latest trends and look towards the future. Puratos also offers many opportunities to work internationally.”

What does the Global Graduate Traineeship entail?

“I’m a Global Graduate Trainee in Operations for the Northeast European market. Operations is involved in the entire process from raw materials to the end product. From purchasing the raw materials, producing the products and checking their quality, to delivering the products to the customers efficiently and on time.

I am currently helping to implement the Eagle programme within the production departments of the Northeast European market. Eagle focuses on the development of people and the provision of operational frameworks, so that the company can develop further in a structured and optimal way. By developing people, productivity improves, and the process becomes more efficient, and that in turn leads to better products. Next year I am going to help implement Eagle in other markets too. In 2018, I will also be doing more projects in the production itself, which will enable me to learn more and gain practical experience.

The total traineeship lasts 3 years. Every year, there is a new project assignment which can be in another department or in another domain. I am also given the chance to work abroad for a period of time. I currently travel a lot through the Northeast European market, but these are often short trips of 3, 4 or 5 days.”

Have your expectations been met?

“Yes! Because it’s my first job, I expected to learn a lot. On a technical and human level: what it’s like to work with people from different cultures. I also expected that I’d feel good at Puratos, that I would have nice colleagues.

All these expectations have been fulfilled. I’m learning a great deal from my two managers. They have a lot of experience and are happy to share it with me. They’re also open to new ideas and value my opinion. In my first week, I was allowed to go to Russia for a week. I can also visit countries that aren’t yet implementing EAGLE in the short term, but where, for instance, an interesting workshop is taking place. That’s how I was able to follow a Strategy & Leadership workshop. I’m really given the chance to increase my knowledge considerably.”

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned in this job?

“How people work with each other. Within a team, but also across different departments and countries. And that good communication is essential if you want to achieve something. The same applies to Eagle: the operational teams must understand what it means and why it’s important. Only then will the programme work effectively and also be sustainable: when we leave, our colleagues have to continue working with the programme.”

What are your future plans?

“This year, I wish to continue contributing to the further improvement of Eagle and its implementation in different countries. It’s such a great programme! Next year, I’d like to gain even more experience within Operations. And after that? My traineeship lasts three years. It’s hard to say what my dream job is, but I definitely hope to keep working at Puratos!”

Would you recommend your job to others?

“Absolutely. The traineeship gives you the opportunity to learn a lot in a short time. Compared to other jobs, you’re given much more opportunities to gain knowledge and experience quickly. It can really be a boost for your career. It’s important to be flexible and have an international mindset. If you like traveling, discovering the world, learning a lot and want to further yourself, then the traineeship from Puratos is a great opportunity.”

Global Graduate Trainee Programme

The Global Graduate Trainee Program gives top graduates the opportunity to perform three assignments in multiple functional domains. Assignments take on average 1 year. The purpose is to gain experience across multiple domains and have exposure within Puratos to all levels of our business. Global Graduate trainees are able to build a network within Puratos, further grow their experience, get to know the business and share their ideas.

A traineeship at Puratos can give your career a big boost. Do you want to seize this opportunity just like Katrien? Please look out for our recruitment adverts for the programme, from the end of February on LinkedIn, your school careers service and our Puratos jobs page.