UPG has partnered with Cardiff Capital Region’s Venture Graduates in a commitment to harnessing the potential of young engineers.
UPG are a leading manufacturing provider of complex plastic parts, creating innovative products for automotive, healthcare, energy, and industrial sectors.
As a member of MediWales, UPG recognise the benefits of partnering with regional organisations. MediWales is the life science network for Wales – bringing together industry partners, academia, and the clinical community to collaborate on sector advancements and business opportunities in life sciences in Wales. When Venture Graduates connected with UPG, it was clear that Venture’s recruitment expertise would provide a seamless pathway to connect with talented candidates rooted in Southeast Wales.
Venturing into MedTech
In partnership with Venture Graduates, UPG recently appointed a new Graduate Quality Engineer, Naomi Bokedal. She shares her enthusiasm for her new role:
“Everyone is very friendly and helpful – I’ve learnt a lot! It’s great to be able to experience how the theory from university is applied in the real world.
“The diversity and range of responsibilities of the role is very exciting! The role involves both analytical tasks such as capability studies, in addition to problem solving and lab-based activities.”
Developing Graduate Talent
UPG were so impressed with Naomi, their next vacancy was filled by another Venture Graduate! The high calibre of Venture’s talent pool ensures businesses are matched with the right candidates who have the potential to thrive and develop within their organisation.
Peter Thomas, Quality Manager, recognises the importance of developing graduate talent. He comments:
“I am a Graduate Engineer myself having graduated University of Glamorgan with a Degree in Mechanical Engineering. I have worked my way from Quality Technician to Quality Engineer, Senior Quality Engineer and now Quality Manager across 3 employments.”
In order to excel and progress as graduate engineers, it’s vital to gain a wealth of industry experience to set early professionals up for success in the sector.
Naomi adds,
“I am learning one step at a time to be able to work efficiently and methodically. Taking and writing up notes has really helped me maintain knowledge. I also had the opportunity to speak with several colleagues in different departments to understand their roles better and how they work alongside the quality department.”
Advancing Life-Long Learning
Venture Graduates’ Career Accelerator Programme (CAP) allows participants to deepen their industry knowledge – or even learn completely new skills alongside their current role!
Venture supports each new appointment in the first twelve months of their role with advice and careers support, offering each graduate the opportunity to gain a formal microcredential qualification via the Open University.
With a keen interest in sustainability, Naomi is currently enrolled on the “Climate Change: Transforming your Organisation for Sustainability” microcredential – learning all about sustainable development, influencing transformative change, and the low carbon economy.
The microcredentials allow graduates to develop their interest and knowledge in a variety of sectors, including Project Management, Marketing Principles, and Python Programming. These qualifications are an impressive way to boost their skillsets and apply their passions to their organisations.
Cardiff Capital Region’s Venture Graduates have matched over 200 passionate and highly-skilled graduates to organisations across Southeast Wales – if your business is in need of well-rounded skillsets, contact the business team at venturebusinesses@cardiff.gov.uk today.
