Young People In Agriculture

Harriette Sayer Jones - Agricultural Assistant

I am a student at Harper Adams University College, studying Agri-food with marketing Bsc. For my placement, I have spent a year working in the Tesco Agriculture team. The Tesco Agriculture team consists of 7 members including the student. The team has specie specific agricultural managers and a producer club manager. The specie specific managers meet suppliers and head up welfare standards. The producer club manager regularly meets farmers, holds producer clubs and attends agricultural shows. The main student role is assisting all of the agricultural managers in their areas, visiting suppliers and managing audit reports. In the summer I will be at the main agricultural shows helping on the Tesco stand and meeting suppliers.

I have enjoyed my year so far at Tesco and have learned a lot about different farming systems and livestock standards used in industry. In the future I hope to work in the food industry focusing on livestock standards which improve food quality; these areas’ interest me the most because I want to make a difference and I think it is becoming more important for the consumer.

Debbie Williams - Dairy Technical Assistant

I am a student at Harper Adams University College, studying Bsc Negotiated studies focusing on food quality and Agriculture. For my placement, I have spent a year working in the Tesco Dairy Technical team. The team cover all chilled dairy products focusing on the product quality rather than price. The team ensure all labelling meet the legal standards required and any quality issues with the products. The team also implement any product development ideas and getting them onto shelf including the design of packaging. The team have to also meet the new desires of consumers for example packaging reduction and local sourcing.  The Students main role is to assist all the Dairy Technical Development Managers with their day to day roles including visiting sites and tasting products to ensure they have the level of quality agreed. 

I have enjoyed my year so far at Tesco and have learned a lot about how Tesco work. Also all the development involved in getting the Tesco products onto shelf, and having consistent quality throughout its shelf life. In the future I would like to work within the Dairy sector or definitely within the technical food segment to help put knowledge into good use.

Marianne Aitken - Produce Marketing Assistant

As part of my Food Retail Management degree which I study at Harper Adams University College, I have spent the past 12 months working within the Produce Marketing team here at Tesco. The small team, which sits within the Produce department, are responsible for all things marketing including maintaining prices against competitors, promotional plans, packaging, publications and the analysis of market share information for all of fruit, salad, veg and horticulture.

My role in the team has been very diverse and I interact with not only the Tesco buying and technical team but also the supply base on a daily basis. Projects which I have been involved in include the redesign of both standard and Finest* produce packaging, product ranging and analysis of market share information for the produce team.

The job has not only given me an insight to the retail industry and the ways of working within Tesco but has helped underpin the knowledge which I have learnt through my course at university. I believe that in my last year at Harper Adams the wealth of knowledge I have accumulated here at Tesco will be indispensable, helping not only with my studies but also assisting in my future career decisions.