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The advantages of doing an FMCG Graduate Scheme

If you’re currently thinking about which type of graduate scheme to choose when you finish university, you might well be considering a career in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Also known as Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), this is a sector that offers a crucial benefit—the essential nature it plays in everyone’s lives. Everyone will always need food, beverages and other consumable goods—that’s how companies like Nestlé continue to thrive for more than 150 years.
What are the other advantages of a graduate career in FMCG, though? Let’s take a look.
Contents
- Job stability
- Breadth of career pathways
- Virtually unlimited development
- International travel opportunities
- Giving back to the planet and communities
Job stability
FMCG companies produce goods that people will always need—food, beverages, toiletries, cosmetics and cleaning products, etc. Joining an established company as a graduate in this sector, then, means stepping into a career with stability at its core.
Of course, stability doesn’t mean standing still—not by any stretch of the imagination. Most graduates who join the FMCG sector are hugely ambitious and driven to climb the corporate ladder.
What stability means, quite simply, is being part of a sector built on high-volume, low-price goods—things people will always buy, even during economically challenging periods. If you’re wondering where to look for graduate schemes that offer job security, FMCG is pretty much as good as it gets.
Breadth of career pathways
A large, global FMCG company will offer enormous breadth of opportunity to anyone fortunate enough to get in at the right level. That’s simply because it will have thousands of job openings around the world in hundreds of different types of roles.
Just look at Nestlé, for example—273,000 people worldwide all working for the same company—that’s mind-blowing scope. Whether you’re interested in a graduate scheme in Marketing, Human Resources (HR), Finance, Nutrition, Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing or any number of other specialties, FMCG offers unparalleled entry points into those careers.
If you work for the right kind of graduate employer—one who encourages you to develop based on your strengths—there’s no reason you’ll ever feel stuck in one of them, either. A large FMCG business will be concerned with growing graduates’ transferable skills, so that they can move sideways into new areas as they progress. The FMCG world is, as the saying goes, your oyster.
Virtually unlimited development
One of the most exciting prospects of an FMCG career is the scope it offers to progress and develop a career without limits. Of course, starting out on an FMCG graduate scheme will generally put you on a leadership pathway, simply as a matter of course. Yet it’s the heights to which you can climb that are truly exciting for career focused graduates.
When choosing a graduate employer, make sure you apply to those that present a clear route to senior management with a high level of influence at the societal level. At Nestlé, for instance, the level of influence our senior managers are able to have is literally world-changing.
Our products enter more than 97% of homes in the UK alone—so our initiative to empower our customers to live healthier lives, for example, will lead to an entire nation of people—and beyond—that eats better and teaches its children to do the same. How many other sectors are there where graduates can expect to grow to that level of influence?
International travel opportunities
Anyone who’s been to university—especially if they lived away from home—understands the appeal of a career adventure. Which is another reason FMCG graduate schemes are so appealing. Working for a global consumer goods company could give graduates the opportunity to travel all over the world—whether it’s to buy, sell, market, make or research a product.
Sure, there’ll be opportunities for people who prefer not to travel so much to develop within the sector, too. However, if you enjoy seeing the world, there are few sectors that offer greater opportunities to do so. Some graduates going into an FMCG career will even find themselves moving to—and potentially staying long-term in—other countries.
Giving back to the planet and communities
The nature of FMCG is changing. Now, more than ever, companies are driving agendas for change—doing things differently in order to benefit the communities they come into contact with and the wider world within which they operate. There’s never been a better time to have a positive impact on the planet from within a graduate scheme in the FMCG sector.
Just look at Nestlé, for example. Our Creating Shared Value agenda is about becoming a Force for Good in the world—contributing to healthier lifestyles for people and giving back to the planet. When you join a business with that level of impact, the difference you can make is beyond what most graduates could even imagine.
If ever there were a case for a career in the FMCG sector, it couldn’t be more convincing than the chance to positively impact upon the planet. Definitely worth your consideration, if you’re about to launch your graduate career.
Looking for something else to read? Take a look at our post on what you can expect from a graduate employer.