Day in the life of a multi skilled engineer

Name:

Ellie Taylor

Age:

24

Job title:

Multi skilled engineer

Company and location:

I work for Müller Milk & Ingredients, which is part of Müller UK & Ireland. Many people don’t realise but we are part of Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller. So I actually have over 32,000 colleagues across Europe, with 18 production sites – everything from dairy, fish, deli and dressings to logistics and services.

Education:

I left school in 2016 with seven GCSEs, then went to college for two years and achieved a Merit in Level 3 Mechanical Engineering.

I then started to apply for apprenticeships in my area and was accepted by Müller UK & Ireland. I completed a four year apprenticeship and achieved my Level 3 Food and Beverages Multiskilled Engineer Diploma.

Since then the learning has continued through the various in-house courses that Müller offers its employees.

Favourite food/drink:

Tricky one to start! I really like exploring new places to eat.

If I said a dairy product, you probably wouldn’t believe me…so if I had to pick a favourite, it would be pizza or Mexican. On the drinks side, you can’t beat an ice cold Pepsi Max.

What inspired you to enter F&B?

I was eager to get into the industry as I wanted to learn and earn, but also to do something that had a positive impact. Dairy products contain nutrients that are essential for good health, so it felt like I could help make a difference.

The idea of learning as a team and being really involved also really intrigued me. I came across Müller on the Government’s apprenticeship website, and the prospect of working for a such a well known and loved brand felt really exciting.

Tell us about your role:

Milk is an essential product that is found in 97% of fridges in the UK, so I think that ensuring it is available to buy, all year round, is my main role.

In a bit more detail, my role is a multi-skilled engineer. I am a mechanical and electrical based engineer, so keeping the machines running through reactive and planned jobs.

What does a typical day look like?

I’m not sure there is such a thing as a typical day, and that’s one of the things I really enjoy about being an engineer for Müller.

Some days I can be answering the radio to reactive breakdown jobs and some days I could be completing planned maintenance jobs – this allows us to not only investigate efficiencies, but also find better ways of doing things.

It’s a fast paced environment, and a great team to be a part of. I’d certainly recommend it as a great place to work.

How did you get to where you are today?

Every career has their setbacks and I’m no different, but I’ve got to where I am today through hard work, determination and having self-belief.

This is traditionally quite a male dominated industry, from college all the way into the workplace. So it has taken courage to follow my passion and I don’t know where’d be today if I hadn’t had the support of my friends, family and colleagues.

Having a line manager that will support your development journey is worth its weight in gold. Combine this with a strong people agenda within the business, then there are so many opportunities to keep developing.

When you’re having a bad day, what cheers you up?

Family time is really important to me, so if I was having a bad day I would make sure to spend time with them, to chat it through.

Another thing that I find helpful is to remind myself that we’re not just feeding the nation, but with a product that contains the nutrients that are essential for good health.

We’re helping our operators to run a machine in the safest, easiest and most efficient way, and ultimately our customers and shoppers to get a product that is of the highest quality.

What’s your favourite part about the food sector?

Seeing the process of how the milk goes from farm to fridge. Before I started here, I’d never really considered how milk was produced.

In addition, at Müller, which is a family-owned business, there is a real emphasis on our people.

All departments really do work together as one team, and from support with mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing, it is a business that wants to make each day better than the last – and I think that is hard to find.

If you could change one thing about the F&B sector what would it be?

Right across the industry, you can sometimes come across people not willing to move from 'how it’s always been done'.

I completely understand that, but I think there’s always a better way to do things. I think, as a sector, we’re pretty good at looking at new technologies, solutions and ways of working, but we can always do more!

What’s next for you/what’s the dream?

Firstly I want to continue progressing within Müller. There are so many opportunities for personal and career growth, so I’m excited to see where that takes me.

I’d also like to encourage everyone, but particularly women to consider this career, and come join us at Müller – we’re a nice bunch!

In other news, Italian firm Newlat has completed the £700m acquisition of Princes from Mitsubishi Corporation.​​