Whether you are a Commerce or Technical Graduate, Fonterra’s Graduate Programmes offer an opportunity to have a range of diverse experiences before you settle on a particular role that suits you best. This gives Fonterra Graduates the chance to find out how your specific skills and quality fare in the real world, and discover which roles you will find satisfying.
Fonterra Graduate Commerce Programme
The Fonterra Graduate Commerce Programme is designed to build Fonterra’s talent pipeline by developing future leaders.
The FGCP provides an intensive, continuous programme over two years offering a multitude of experiences by way of rotations through different businesses to equip graduates with the necessary skills and knowledge needed for an accelerated start to their careers in Fonterra. We do this by providing stretching, challenging roles with real decision making responsibility, providing exposure to a range of developmental and learning experiences while continuously developing functional/technical competence.
Fonterra Graduate Technical Programme (Engineers and Food Technology/Science)
The Fonterra Technical Graduate Programme gives graduates a broad overview of Fonterra and all the technical aspects that go with the business. The first 12 months includes an induction, practical work at a dairy plant and an integrated course at the Fonterra Research Centre (based in Palmerston North), the largest dairy research centre in the world. The second year further develops our graduates skills and expertise through rotations through the business or placements.
Launched in 1969, the Fonterra Graduate Technical Programme (FGTP) is an intensive, induction course that equips Science, Technology and Engineering Graduates with the skills and knowledge for an accelerated start to their careers. The aim is to develop graduates with the potential to become technical leaders and managers in Fonterra.
The FGTP gives an excellent broad overview of Fonterra where graduates gain a good insight into the structure and function of all technical aspects of Fonterra including making contacts with people in diverse areas of the industry that will be of great benefit in building your career. You will also have the opportunity to attain a Masters in Food Science as part of programme.
The FGTP year begins in December with a three-week induction course held at Fonterra Research Centre (FRC) in Palmerston North. During the summer, you will be immersed in dairy with practical work experience at a Fonterra dairy plant -- working shifts in a process operator role. Over the winter, you will be based back at the FRC for a 10 week integrated course of lectures, tutorials, practical work, exercises and projects covering business units, dairy science, technology and engineering, operational excellence, and the technology, science, product development and marketing of dairy products. You then return to a Fonterra site and have the option to complete an individual research project.
What We Look For - New Zealand Graduates
We are looking for talented people who are passionate, innovative and possess a "can do" attitude to help us lead the way in dairy. The following competencies will give you a hint of what we look for in a potential leader:
Business & Commerce
We are a NZ co-operative who exist to secure the prosperity for the future NZ by bringing dairy goodness to the world. Our dairy know-how and expertise is built on generations of knowledge, expertise and passion. We are committed to sustainable dairying and the communities where we operate. Are you ready for Fonterra?
Business Graduate Programme
We realise you may not yet have decided on an area of speciality within business, so the Fonterra Commerce Graduate Programme will provide you with exposure to a wide variety of roles through four or more rotations over a two year period. You will have the opportunity to shadow senior managers and will contribute to team projects.
As a business graduate you will be working in a fast paced environment using your interpersonal skills to navigate in a dynamic and changing business environment. You will be a problem solver; able to look at the big picture and provide concise analysis and feedback on a variety of scenarios. As such, you will be highly logical as well as being confident in presenting your findings to internal and external groups.
Qualifications
A degree in commerce is essential – preferably with majors in finance, management, economics or international business. Any research or project papers that involve internships or research within a business would be an advantage. A conjoint science degree would also be viewed highly favourably given the innovative and technical nature of some of our business areas.
Ideally we employ graduates who couple their studies with extra-curricular activities that demonstrate ambition to perform at a high level, lead others and achieve results.
You will be rewarded with an attractive salary, an annual incentive based on your performance as well as that of the business and opportunities for promotion when you are ready to take that next step.
We have opportunities in central Auckland, though to get the most out of your career with Fonterra, it is an advantage that you are mobile.
If you have a positive attitude, willingness to learn and are a real team player, give your career the best start!
Agribusiness and On-Farm Sustainability Graduates
We realise you may not yet have decided on an area of speciality within business, so the Fonterra Commerce Graduate Programme will provide you with exposure to a wide variety of roles through four or more rotations over a two year period. This may include Milk Supply, Shareholder Services and Sustainable Production. You will also be involved in projects that impact shareholders.
As an Agribusiness Graduate you will be required to understand the needs of our suppliers and be able to communicate effectively with our shareholders.
Qualifications
It is likely you will have an applied science or business degree in agribusiness or agriculture. Alternatively, graduates with general commerce, law or economics degrees who have an affinity with farming will be considered. Highly numerate, we are looking for graduates with drive and passion for relationship building.
Ideally we employ graduates who couple their studies with extra-curricular activities that demonstrate ambition to perform at a high level, lead others and achieve results.
You will be rewarded with an attractive salary, an annual incentive based on your performance as well as that of the business and opportunities for promotion when you are ready to take that next step.
We have opportunities in Hamilton though to get the most out of your career with Fonterra, you must be mobile.
Naomi O'Leary Lincoln University (BComAg)
It was always my plan to work in the agricultural sector so I completed a Bachelor of Commerce in Agriculture majoring in Farm Management (B com Ag) at Lincoln University. However, like most new grads, once I had a degree under my belt, the question was how best to use it. That’s where the Fonterra Agribusiness Graduate Programme came in.
By joining the programme, I had an opportunity to learn all about the shareholder services part of Fonterra’s business, working for Milk Supply. This is the area of the business that works with our farmers to maintain strong supplier engagement and loyalty for our Co-op.
In my first rotation, I spent time with the Supplier Services Team as a Service Specialist. This was a very interesting role, as you are the first point of contact for our suppliers, assisting them with questions at an operational level. Then I was out on the road with our Area Managers – meeting our farmers, keeping them up-to-date with what’s happening in the Co-operative and helping them work out the best solutions for their farming businesses.
I completed the Graduate Programme in September 2010 and am now the Area Manager for Northern Southland. Every day I have the opportunity to interact with our farmers, the people that own our business. It’s a challenging, varied and extremely rewarding job and one that I absolutely love.
Fonterra is an amazing place to work, as there are fantastic support networks, you are constantly encouraged to grow and develop and there are so many great opportunities to work on a variety of projects.
I’ve enjoyed being part of the Co-op and would highly recommend Fonterra as an employer of choice.
Adam Jaidin - University of Canterbury (BCom Management)
Before coming to Fonterra I studied at the University of Canterbury, doing a BCom in Management and Management Science.
I always loved leadership and interacting with people so Management was a perfect fit for this and I really enjoyed Management Science which gave me more of a quantitative view of businesses. So I was able to get a good overall picture of how businesses are run and I loved my time there!
Upon completing my degree I knew I had to find a job where I could take all the information I had learnt at University and put it to practical use and Fonterra was an obvious choice. It was such a large and well recognised organisation, both within NZ and abroad, with so many opportunities available and I felt that I could take what I had learnt and be able to apply it in so many different ways. I really liked the idea of the Fonterra Graduate Programme as it allowed me to be introduced into the "real" world at a good pace and enabled me to take all that I had learnt and apply it while still continuing my learning as well. I really liked the idea of being able to transfer around the various functions of the Supply Chain to gain a broader understanding of how everything interacts, as this would help me in the future, and being able to work in positions of responsibility and leadership from very early on was also very appealing.
These thoughts turned out to be true and my time on the Fonterra Graduate Programme was well spent as it provided me with the base depth, and understanding of the organisation to make the organisational moves that I have. It enabled me to move between the various Supply Chain functions, working in all positions of responsibility right from the shop floor to shift foreman, to ensure that I knew each function, and its workers, intimately.
Since then I have moved through a number of positions within the organisation and am currently the Distribution Manager. This means I am responsible for managing all FBNZ domestic finished goods warehouses in New Zealand as well as all domestic third party freight providers in New Zealand. This means I am managing approximately 115 staff and with a multimillion dollar budget to control. I have been given the opportunity to work on a variety of key projects including Milk in Schools and the Christchurch earthquake recovery. I have also worked on initiatives that have been implemented and resulted in increased customer service and the design and implementation of a number of new milk depots throughout New Zealand.
Whilst this may be a far cry from my original Graduate position, I know that the Graduate programme was instrumental in providing me with the opportunities, experience, and relationships required to make such a transition into this role and I look forward to continuing my experiences with Fonterra.
