Sophie Blundell: Workchoice and Beyond

The Workchoice experience can extend well beyond Workchoice Day. University student, Sophie Blundell approached Workchoice to see if she could get work experience to complement her studies. Read her profile:

 Name: Sophie Blundell

Age: 20

What secondary school did you attend? Diocesan School for Girls (Auckland)

Did you do Workchoice Day? Yes

Where did you go? Cadbury Confectionery : Pascalls, Avondale

What do you want to do for a career? Human Nutrition/ Dietetics

Did workchoice Day change/reinforce this? It has given me more options: I could do a post graduate study in Food Science if I don't get into Dietetics in my 4th year of study.

Where are you studying and what year are you in? Otago University, 2nd year

Where did you go for this work experience and what did you do? Kathy McCombe from Workchoice put me in touch with Cadbury Confectionery and I ended up going to Pascalls in Avondale, where I worked in the Science and Technology department.  My work involved checking all the ingredient specifications from suppliers to ensure they were up to date with allergen and GM status.  This was part of a major project initiated in Cadbury Australia to provide customers with more allergen information on packaging in order for them to make informed decisions before consuming that product.

What were the highlights? Being involved in a new product development; the Food technologist I was working with had established a new recipe for a jelly lolly. I was involved in its first trials, testing and finally got to taste test (lots) of the product. The free lollies in the cafeteria were a major bonus too!

What did you learn? Heaps! Where to start…well first and foremost, how a huge factory is able to co-ordinate and maintain product flow, quality and quantity. Collaboration and communication is essential in knowing information from all around the factory from production and floor managers to quality control and sales. Problems were identified and managed which is an integral part of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points).  HACCP management is very important in food services, large or small, and was the basis of one of my second year Nutrition papers.  Being able to apply this academic knowledge in a practical situation has been essential in my learning.

Where to next? What are your long term goals? I have recently taken up a part-time position at Cadbury Confectionery Dunedin while I finish my degree, and Avondale have offered me a summer position which is fantastic.  I hope to combine industry and nutrition knowledge to achieve high grades and get into dietetics.

What skills are important to enter a field such as this? Enthusiasm, determination, communication, lateral thinking

Advice for people wanting to get into your industry? Just apply for anything and everything; you never know what you'll get yourself into.  Big companies like Cadbury and Fonterra have fantastic graduate programs, which are an easy foot in the door.  Holidays are a fantastic time to try new things out.  You will never have spare time like this when you're working, so do it now!

Anything else you want to add... We all know how difficult it is to decide on which University degree to do.  You can read as many brochures and do as many tours as you like, but at the end of the day university is only a tiny part of the long term picture.  By doing work experience you can at least get in the ball park of what you want to do.  People in that industry always have really good advice on what studies are really beneficial and can give you a heads up on where there are shortages.

Start with a positive attitude willing to wow them with your charm; older people generally admire adolescents that just give things ago! When I was 6th form I thought  I wanted to do Pharmacy, but after 2 days of work experience I quickly realised that it just wasn't me.  A valuable lesson to learn before you rack up a giant student loan and find yourself in a field that you are not suited for.

If you are interested in obtaining work experience with a Workchoice company, contact us now!