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Sparafucile

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Posted 16 January 2012 - 12:22 PM

I’m from Spain and I have planed to move to the UK in 2012 (because my girlfriend have to do it)I'm 33 years old. I have a degree (4 years) in biochemistry. After this, I studied an MSc in integrated systems of management (quality, environment and safety)

I work since 2007 as a Plant Quality Manager in baby food production under ISO 9001 and ISO 22000. Before this I have worked as quality technician and quality chief in pharmaceutical industry.

Need I a UK degree? I would be grateful if you could advise me estrategies, courses, ... something to do easier my job search in UK

Of course, I'm working hard to improve my english :biggrin:

Thanks in advance.



GMO

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Posted 16 January 2012 - 01:13 PM

English skills would be paramount. We're a nation of lazy people who expect everyone to speak our language whereas the best we can manage is knowing how to order a beer in yours! (It's true! I can order a beer in Spanish, Czech, Hungarian, German, French, Greek and at a push Portuguese!)

After that, for a higher level quality management job, you will ideally have CIEH Level 4 food hygiene and RSPH Level 4 HACCP. Neither course is cheap but much cheaper than doing a UK degree and far more valued by the industry (in my experience). You might be able to do them by distance learning but either can be done in 1 week at somewhere like Campden BRI and if you do it face to face, you will get a more worthwhile experience I would think. It might be worth looking for a role first before doing either of those training courses but both of them would certainly make you more employable, both as proof you are the kind of person prepared to invest in your training and because they're the skills which a lot of employers ask for.

Good job sites include your food job: http://www.yourfoodjob.com/ and food manufacture jobs: http://jobs.foodmanufacture.co.uk/

On the above websites there are also recruitment consultants which advertise. It might be worth you contacting one or two of those directly now to get more of an idea of what skills they think are important (they may think my idea is rubbish!)

What will set you apart though is your language skills so it might be worth playing on that. If you're prepared to travel, having two languages would help for auditing for example.

My last bit of advice is to get hints and tips about the interview process. Some UK companies (particularly big ones) will ask you to do numeracy (maths) and literacy (language and understanding) tests. These are quite hard and they're meant to be (everyone finds them hard). You can do online practice tests though which will really help you know what to expect. They're very time pressured so it helps if you're prepared in advance. Secondly, especially big companies will do compitency based questions and again you can find practice ones on the internet. They're along the lines of "tell me about a time you worked in a team, what did you bring to the team and what was the outcome" etc so they don't employ someone who is all out for themselves and doesn't care about their colleagues. Again, practice makes perfect, having some answers in your mind will help you.

As for what level to go for; I was going to suggest moving in at a lower level and working your way up but unfortunately I've seen many EU immigrants do this and get 'stuck' at QA level when they're really qualified for QA Manager. It might be sensible though to aim for a mid level job until you've built up your confidence.

What level of the UK are you looking for?



George @ Safefood 360°

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Posted 16 January 2012 - 02:33 PM

As an additional note, in theory your qualifications should be recognized under the European Framework of Qualifications. This framework aligns qualifications from various EU member states and the last time I looked both the UK and Spain were still members Posted Image

So you shouldn't need a UK Degree.

Here's a link to tell you more:

My link



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AntonellaTromba

jose22000

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Posted 20 January 2012 - 10:14 PM

Look at the GMO advise, is a very good advice (mainly the websites...)

You don't need a new grade but some training made in the UK can help you a lot for extend your contacts and gain some technical english. I suggest you two sites:

http://www.campden.co.uk/training.htm

http://rsph.org.uk/e...lifications.cfm

Mucha suerte, aprovecha la experiencia, mejora tu inglés y no tengas miedo de nada, sabes más de lo que piensas
Un saludo cordial



Sparafucile

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Posted 25 January 2012 - 10:57 AM

Thanks!!!

Do you think is a good idea spend money in IRCA auditor certification?





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