 In our final Sector Spotlight on Aquaculture, we speak to Michael Lewington, the Factory Manager at Cooke Aquaculture Scotland’s Orkney Packing Station (OPS). OPS is responsible for processing, packing and distributing superior whole Orkney farmed salmon to suppliers locally, nationally and internationally. --Can you describe a typical day in your role as Factory Manager? A typical day for me is to take a walk around the plant to see everything running, ensure everything is operating smoothly and check in with the Supervisors, then I check in with the Quality Controller to see if they have any concerns. The rest of the day is planning future changes, ensuring other areas of the site’s business is operating and ensuring we are always compliant with standards to provide a high quality product to our customers. --How did you end up in this role? I began working here in February 2010 as a processor, I did this for 6 years whilst learning all tasks within the process, and I ended up working in dispatch loading the final product onto lorries until a supervisor position opened, where I applied for the role and got it. I did that for 4.5 years and then temporary cover opened for the Assistant Manager, I was only in this role for 2 months before the role of Factory Manager became available, and this is where I am now. --What is the best thing about your job? I love the people I get to work with, and the continuous improvements we do on our site to develop and improve on our customer’s needs. We have a great team here at Cooke. --What is the worst thing about your job? There's nothing I can think of! --What skills do you need to undertake your role? Working as a team and Communication skills are essential when working in such a large team. Having a good understanding of the process and product here is essential but this comes with time. Problem solving is one that is needed often to help with continuous development. Being open minded is another and listening to team suggestions. --What qualifications do you have? Upon leaving school I just had my basic GCSEs. Whilst working for Cooke I have been put through numerous courses, initially an SVQ 2 when I started, then an ILM Level 3 and an SVQ 3 in Food and Drink, Intermediate Food Hygiene and HACCP training, along with Managing Safely. With these skills I can ensure our team is working safely and effectively whilst producing a safe and secure product for our customers. --Would you recommend this job to young people? If so, why? Absolutely, day to day is always different which keeps me on my toes and active. The people I get to work with are great. Visit Cooke Aquaculture Scotland on:
Website: https://cookeaquaculturescotland.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cookeaqua X: https://x.com/CookeScotland Comments are closed.
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