It is an understatement to say that Ornua’s graduate programme is popular. Last year, there were over 1,000 applications for 17 places. The organisation has 1,900 people working for it altogether but only 300 of those are in Ireland – based across the head office in Lower Mount St in Dublin, the product development lab at Teagasc Moorepark and the new butter packing plant, Kerrygold Park, which was opened in Mitchelstown earlier this year. The remaining 1,600 Ornua employees are spread out all around the world, including Ornua’s three core markets: the UK, Germany and the US.

Ornua has recently announced details of its graduate programme for 2017. It is hiring 10 graduates on to the programme and the window for applications will be open from Monday 9 January until 13 February. Successful graduates will begin in their roles in August of next year – meaning if they get on to the programme straight out of final year, they’ll have the bulk of the summer off (and we’re not jealous at all).

What does Ornua want?

In terms of academics, it is interested in graduates who come from a business and commerce background, or food science and related disciplines, while the organisation says finding graduates from an IT and computer science background is a really big priority for them this year.

“We’ll also consider people from backgrounds such as supply chain management and languages, so we’re reasonably open-minded” says Ornua HR manager Fergal Roche.

Fergal says that those from a farming background may be at an advantage when applying because “one thing for us is it’s not just the academics – we’re not just necessarily interested in people with super results. For us, a key thing is people’s attitudes, and also their interest in and passion for the dairy industry, and very often somebody from a farming background will have that in spades.

Attitude & passion

“Attitude and that passion can really stand out – it can be a big plus for people. A number of the people we took on this year did have a farming background, whereas some of them I’d say have never set foot on a farm in their lives, so it’s bit of a mix.”

Indeed, a person’s attitude and passion are more rated by Ornua than academic prowess.

“In the past we would have said we wanted a minimum 2.1 degree,” says Fergal, “but that isn’t the case any more. We look at people with lower than that. We’ve said we want a minimum 2.2 degree but, notwithstanding that, the attitude and passion are more important than the academic result.”

Another quality Ornua really wants in its employees is “a certain level of humility”.

“Self-confidence is great, it’s fine,” says Fergal, “but we don’t want people who think they’re coming in as the finished article or who maybe have any hint of arrogance.”

Ornua wants to see a willingness to learn in its graduates and a recognition that they’re only starting out in their journey. Fergal says the hard work is only starting when candidates are selected for the programme.

“People still have to remember that they have to come in and work hard and prove themselves. That attitude and that willingness to learn is really important,” he says.

Another attribute Ornua really wants in its employees is people who are internationally mobile.

Internationally mobile

“We’re at labours to point that out at every step of the process – they definitely need to be internationally mobile,” says Fergal.

“The disaster scenario for us would be if we took on somebody who said they were internationally mobile in an interview and then six months in we say: ‘We want to send you to Spain or America or the UK,’ and they turn around and say: ‘No, I’m not interested.’ That’s not what we want, so international mobility is key. The key point about mobility is that the places candidates will be sent are often in out-of-the-way, more rural places. For example, we have four grads in Leek in the UK at the moment, and we’ve another grad at the moment who’s in rural Wisconsin.

“They need to have kind of a toughness or a resilience to cope with that because it’s not necessarily easy, particularly if you’re 22 and you’re used to having all your mates around. If you’re going off somewhere, maybe on your own, more out of the way that doesn’t have a lot of distractions, it takes a certain type of person to be able to handle that and manage that well,” says Fergal.

Graduate programme structure

Ornua’s graduate programme is an 18-month programme with three six-month rotations. Those rotations could be in Ireland or overseas in one of Ornua’s markets.

Candidates start off with a stint in head office where they meet various people from the business, and go on visits to Ornua plants and facilities. In addition, Ornua runs a development programme for candidates with the Irish Management Institute (IMI) that sees the candidates get together approximately once every three months and go to the IMI for three days at a time. The programme in the IMI develops their self-awareness, their communications skills and their leadership abilities. Candidates must also complete a business project which they present at the end of the programme to senior managers.

Fergal says candidates on the graduate programme are given real responsibility from the start and he notes that people coming to Ornua are very surprised that they’ve got such good access to senior leaders within the business. The future is potentially very bright for those who get a place on Ornua’s graduate programme. Two of those that sit on the nine-person executive (the executive is the group that runs the organisation) started as graduate trainees.

Those interested in applying for a place on Ornua’s programme don’t need to wait until 9 January to get the ball rolling. They can be proactive by visiting Ornua’s micro-site, www.ornua.com/earlycareers, where they can register their interest, and when the programme opens for applications in January, Ornua will send them an email to remind them that the programme is open to applications.

The application process involves an online application form and then there are online aptitude tests, an assessment centre and face-to-face interviews as well.

It can be a tough process but the rewards and career prospects for successful applicants make it all worthwhile. And with the opportunity to travel and further your education while you take your first steps with Ornua, it’s no wonder the programme is so popular. CL