With world-class training opportunities in a variety of roles, we are looking for new talent to join our high-performance team and kick-start your career in packaging. Find out more about our apprentice roles for 2022.
Meet Leah, HR Advisor (UK Paper)
Leah started her career at Coveris just over four years ago. Having completed a Business Administration apprenticeship before briefly moving into a junior HR role with a major food manufacturing business, Leah joined us as a HR Assistant. As part of her role she was put through her full CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) training and accredited qualification which lead to being promoted to a HR Advisor after a year of being with the company.
So Leah, why did you decide to work at Coveris?
I was approached by Coveris directly for the role. Although I was already working for a large corporate business, the offer of more responsibility, CIPD qualification, greater company benefits and progression opportunities within Coveris really sold it to me. In my previous role I was based at a single site however the role with Coveris gave me the chance to work across the entire UK Paper Business which I believe is more dynamic and rewarding.
What did your training involve?
When I started, I spent a lot of time working alongside other HR team members who shared lots of their experience and knowledge and gave me an insight into the business. I then went into my CIPD training, which is a globally recognised, accredited qualification for HR. This was a 12-month course that involved a one-day a week academic study at Lincoln College covering all aspects of HR and employment law. Since gaining my CIPD qualification, training has continued as we always need to stay on top of the latest employment law best practices, and we regularly attend updates with our legal teams to ensure we’re always up to date. – the training never really stops!
What does your typical day involve?
My HR site responsibility covers our Enterprise Way labels site in Spalding and our graphics services business, Rivendell, in Leeds. As two completely different businesses with their own unique cultures, opportunities and challenges, my typical day involves all aspects of the employee lifecycle. This can include supporting the recruitment team with interviewing potential candidates and attending job fair events, making sure our teams always feeling supported, promoting health and wellbeing, driving our PDR (personal development review) process, managing welfare processes, competing inductions and supporting line managers to ensure we deliver a first class HR service to our colleagues.
Our HR team are always looking for continuous improvement opportunities and complete many projects alongside our day to day work. One of my main projects is supporting to manage the Training and Apprenticeship opportunities across the UK paper business. This requires me to source the best training providers within the marketplace to improve our training offering. Given my own apprenticeship and training journey, this is something I am really passionate about and proud to support.
What do you enjoy most about it?
Absolutely the people side of the role and the fact that no two days are ever the same! Dealing with people in a HR capacity undoubtedly has its ups and downs, but being able to support people, especially through welfare processes if they’re going through a tough time and seeing them through this is definitely the most rewarding part of the job. I also really enjoy the training and development side of things and being able to see how our training offering adds value to peoples’ roles to help them achieve to their best potential.
What do you like most about working at Coveris?
How the different teams and individuals work together. Coveris has many different departments, cultures and sites but everyone is so approachable and always happy to help. There are lots of opportunities for future development and senior managers really promote succession planning and drive you to be the best you can be.
Do you have any advice for someone considering doing an apprenticeship?
Give it a go! The demands of the qualifications can be daunting at first, but you’ll get all the support you need as well as a dedicated and experienced mentor, which means you’ll always have a person to go to. Being in a fast-moving sector like ours means that there are always endless opportunities available and your apprenticeship is just the start.
Interested in career opportunities at Coveris? Find out more about our apprenticeships or general roles.