Name: Eleanor Langford
Age: 28
Job title: Detailed production scheduler
Company & location: Nestlé’s Nescafé factory in Tutbury, Derbyshire
Education: Environmental science degree at Sheffield Hallam
During my apprenticeship at Nestlé I completed a Level 3 apprenticeship in supply chain with Lincoln University.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? An engineer, but as I moved through school my interests moved away from maths and physics and more towards our changing environment.
Why did you decide to go for a career in food & drink? Partly due to my interest in sustainability and because food and drink products are a huge part of our daily lives. Plus, as it’s such a big industry there’s a lot of room to think about how we can operate in a more sustainable way.
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): As a detailed production scheduler, I create a detailed production plan for the manufacturing of our Nescafé Dolce Gusto coffee products that balances customer demand and keeps the factory running at optimum efficiency.
What does a typical day look like for you? I start every day by looking at the factory’s progress against our wider plan for the week. I base this on the completed production so far, which then sets the day’s priorities.
As the key communication point between the factory and supply chain, I make sure that the inbound supply team has up-to-date information to make sure that the right number of materials are ordered on time.
My position means I spend time cultivating relationships with key stakeholders to make sure the information flows smoothly so we can be reactive to any changes.
As well as putting together and maintaining the production plan, I work with the factory teams and Nestle’s supply chain to make sure we are running resources to their optimum capacity and minimising waste.
“Being reactive to this can be stressful at times, but I find it really fun!”
Tell us how you went about applying for your job: For my apprenticeship, I applied online. I filled out a form and did some initial tests, before having a phone interview. I then attended an assessment centre where we had to take part in group activities and presentations.
I did of this all online due to Covid. I finished my apprenticeship and was eventually offered the role.
What’s the best part about working for a food & drink company? I love how fast-paced everything is. Customer demand can change in an instant, as there are so many external factors that affect what we produce.
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? I think it’s easy to think the biggest opportunities are in cities, but people forget about – or don’t realise – the regional networks there are in the sector.
Food and drink companies are often embedded into their local communities, and you can sometimes have generations of the same family working under the same roof.
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? Make sure you create a good network of people in the sector, both at your workplace and outside, as you can learn so much from others. Speak to people about what you want to do too and make your interest known – you never know where it might lead.
What’s your ultimate career dream? I’m not sure exactly what the specific role would look like, but I want to keep expanding my skills and knowledge around sustainability, so within my work I can work on projects that really help shift the dial and I can see the impact from my actions.
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