Crowcon is part of the Halma group of companies. For the past five months, our marketing team has been joined by Tori, a participant in the Halma People Development – Graduate (HPDG) programme.
The HPDG programme is a leadership development programme consisting of graduates from top universities in the United Kingdom and United States. During their two-year tenure, graduates work on projects at various Halma group companies to build their skills in multiple facets of the modern business world, including operations, product development, and marketing.
Graduates on The HPDG programme are given the freedom to choose their own placements, and Halma group companies offer them challenging projects that allow them to learn new skills and grow professionally while making a tangible impact on the company, whether through the design and implementation of a new production line, development of a new product, or creation of the strategy to enter a new market. While in the programme, the graduates also attend three training modules to learn from Halma experts in LEAN manufacturing, new product development, and strategic marketing, and work with leadership consultants to build their interpersonal and leadership skills.
Tori graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. She tells us more about her experience in the programme below.
“I joined the programme because I wanted to learn more about the manufacturing business world,” explains Tori, “My professors taught me how to think like an engineer, but I knew very little about how to apply those skills to business. The HPDG programme has given me the amazing opportunity to not only learn about, but also to work in, multiple parts of business.”
My first project was at Diba Industries Inc, a fluidics company in Danbury, Connecticut, USA, in quality management,” she continues. As a part of my project, I re-wrote their quality management documentation, which allowed me to interact with every part of the business to learn how they operated. I learned the importance of quality control, not only on the product level, but in how a company operates in every department. I was able to visit Diba’s facility in Cambridge, UK, and I learned about international business operations as I collaborated with the Quality Managers at all of Diba’s manufacturing facilities.”
My second project was at FFE Ltd, a fire detection company in Hitchin, UK, in product management. It was my responsibility to plan the launch of a new explosion-proof, infra-red smoke detector. In this project I also enjoyed learning from multiple parts of the business, from how to plan a new layout for a production floor to the intricacies of applying for different certifications to creating a marketing communications plan for a product. This project built my collaboration skills and emphasised the importance of open communication between different functions in a business.”
Sadly, I am in the final stages of my project at Crowcon. I have thoroughly enjoyed working here and learning from what is often considered the strongest marketing team within Halma. My project here has been a new challenge; researching the Asia-Pacific region and creating a three-year strategy for the region.”
The HPDG programme has been incredible. Working for a company that truly believes in the strength of its people has been such a positive way to begin my working career. I can’t wait to see where the rest of my time with Halma takes me”, Tori ends.
In our next post, Tori tells us more about her time with Crowcon.
