Group 48 Trainee Shahrukh Farrakh has been on the MDS graduate scheme for just over 6 months. Since starting his new secondment, he has now been able to experience 2 very different, challenging roles. Here’s what Shah had to say about his learnings, the challenging elements of the scheme and his proudest moments. Take a look at Shahrukh’s vlog below!

Learnings

You can learn a lot on the 2-year MDS graduate scheme. Some of Shahrukh’s major learnings so far? In his vlog, the Trainee said that he quickly realised just how challenging the programme is and that it pushes Trainees out of their comfort zone to develop them into future leaders.  Shah said that he was also able to improve his time-management and task prioritisation skills. He highlighted how he has had to adapt to the programme, “The food and fresh produce industry is very fast-paced. You need to be reactive!”.

Secondments

Shahrukh’s first secondment was within the buying department for one of the biggest retailers in the world. He is currently starting his second secondment which is a very hands-on engineering role. In his vlog, Shah explained, “Going from somewhere that is very corporate to the farm and fields is a huge culture shock, however, I’ve always got that positive mindset and I’m looking forward to it”.

Proudest Moments

During his first secondment, Shahrukh was able to experience the tender process from start to finish, “The whole period was very interesting, and I would say that was definitely my proudest moment”. He was also given the opportunity to present to key stakeholders within the business “I produced a series of action plans and then presented it to my director and group buying director”.

Challenges

Shahrukh said that one of the biggest challenges so far has been the transition between secondments but was supported with the move and remained resilient. In his vlog, Shah explained, “Moving over from Birmingham to Spalding, was a culture shock in itself. Right now I am fasting, it is the month of Ramadan so it is quite hard adapting to not eating, not drinking, moving accommodation while working a full-time role. However, if you have a positive mindset everything always pans out perfectly!”.

The future

Shahrukh said that he is looking forward to developing his skills even further over the next 18 months.

“Where I see myself in the next year and a half is further developing my skills and really understanding the industry more in-depth. What I mean by that is having great managers, great leaders mentor me as well as implementing what I have learned into my next future secondments.”

Take a look at Shah’s vlog!