At a time when the pharmaceutical industry is arguably at a low in terms of reputation and image, universities are not producing the quantity and quality of science graduates to fill vacancies, and a science career is seen as boring by school leavers more interested in being famous singers or footballers, who better to be an ambassador for the industry than someone who has been identified as one of its future leaders?
After graduating from Manchester University with a first class degree in Chemical Engineering in 2010, Peter Harding joined GSK and having completed a three-year graduate training programme with the company, he is currently Process Engineer in Primary Operations at the UK pharmaceutical manufacturer’s plant in Worthing, West Sussex.
In July this year, he won the BASF Young Ambassador of the Year Award in a scheme organised by the Chemical Industries Association (CIA). The Award is given to an outstanding young person under 30 who has demonstrated communication skills and leadership in the chemical industry and has contributed to its success. Candidates are assessed on their ability to convey to others the excitement and opportunities the industry offers; on their appreciation of the issues and challenges facing the industry; and on their strong personal commitment to the sector.
The judges said Harding won them over with the experience he has gained in a short time working at three GSK sites in the UK as part of the company’s Future Leaders Programme.
Because I wasn’t long out of university, I could relate to school leavers and under-graduates
Harding says he has always been keen to engage with young people and entered the industry himself after being influenced by a chemistry teacher who had also worked in industry and had well-rounded experience. The fact that the teacher set fire to his overalls made the lessons all the more exciting. He was able to share his passion and help bring the next generation into the industry when in 2012 he ran GSK’s graduate recruitment programme for its UK manufacturing sites. ‘Because I wasn’t long out of university, I could relate to school leavers and under-graduates and I felt that recruitment fairs did not engage enough with young people,’ he says.
‘With other graduates on the GSK scheme, we went into university engineering and chemistry departments and ran various workshops, such as how to write a CV or handle a job interview. We also told them what it is actually like working in industry. As a result of our project, we increased the number of job applications to GSK and candidates were of a higher calibre.’
Harding is also a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Ambassador and works with schools on a voluntary basis, providing support and encouragement as well as being a role model for young people and helping them to understand the opportunities that a science, engineering, or technology-based career can offer. With GSK colleagues, he developed a tablet-making workshop to take into educational establishments, which is now used by the company throughout the UK.
I have worked at three sites and have had four roles, so I have built up a breadth of relevant experience
‘It's a kind of tablet-making game that uses Smarties as tablets and the students add various coatings to them using everyday items such as hairspray, vaseline and honey. They then agitate them in a small cup to see which stay on top of the chocolate and then try to work out why.’ It is a practical way of showing them that tablet-making is both technical and interesting, he says.
Harding was nominated for the Young Ambassador Award by a Senior Leader at Worthing. ‘Many of the things I did on GSK’s graduate training scheme fed into the Award,’ he says. ‘I have worked at three sites and have had four roles, so I have built up a breadth of relevant experience.’
In many ways, GSK’s scheme enables graduates to get stuck in and apply what they have learned at university straightaway. In Harding’s first placement, which lasted 16 months, he was a Process Engineer in the Primary Value Stream at the company’s plant in Worthing, West Sussex. He supported the manufacture of the active ingredient Bactroban used in GSK’s antibiotic products, which was going through process improvements with the aim of increasing capacity by 25%. Harding applied process engineering fundamentals for troubleshooting and continuous improvement.
For his second, 12-month placement, he moved to GSK’s plant in Ware, Hertfordshire, and was Production Team Leader for the next generation of inhalers that are used for administering drugs to treat asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Harding was involved in front-line management of 12 technical operators, which required out-of-hours prioritisation and delivery of multiple work streams. He used Lean Six Sigma problem-solving with the team to identify ways in which continuous improvements could be made to the processes.
He was responsible for mentoring and coaching the team, which resulted in promotions for two team members. ‘I was 23 and the all-male team ranged from 30–65. It was challenging at first, but I tried to understand their roles and the difficulties they faced and form a bond with them – then it got easier,’ he says.
p>After this, Harding spent nine months at Barnard Castle in Co. Durham at GSK’s Liquid, Creams and Ointments Centre of Excellence. This is a secondary pharmaceutical manufacturing site, where active raw materials from other GSK sites or suppliers are brought in and converted into finished products.I was 23 and the all-male team ranged from 30–65. It was challenging at first
Part of the specialist dermatology business (formerly owned by Stiefel) is also based at this site, which manufactures sterile products in vials and syringes for injection; clean liquid products inhaled via nasal sprays; dermatologicals such as creams and ointments in tubes and pumps; and tablets and suspensions.
‘Barnard Castle has a wider breadth of products than Worthing and has to meet the challenges of producing both Cx (GSK Consumer) and Rx (GSK Pharma) products,’ says Harding.
As Process Engineer, Harding delivered technical expertise for liquid, cream and ointment manufacture globally. He was involved in the development and implementation of process engineering training and strengthening GSK’s technical understanding through academic collaborations. ‘The graduate scheme made me appreciate the scope of GSK’s business; it’s huge. I had three roles in three years, which was a unique opportunity. I gained technical knowledge and understanding of secondary and active manufacturing – the end-to-end supply chain,’ he says.
I discovered that there is a time and a place for humour and although it can help with communication, you have to learn when it is appropriate
‘The first and last placements were core technical roles, whereas at Ware I had a leadership role and learned how to manage people. I discovered that there is a time and a place for humour and although it can help with communication, you have to learn when it is appropriate. My comfort state is to be nice to people, but there are occasions when I had to manage potentially difficult situations.’
During this time, Harding took a number of training courses in core leadership, project management standards and an IOSH managing safely course. He is also a fully accredited PRINCE2 (Projects IN Controlled Environments) practitioner and successfully completed Lean Six Sigma Greenbelt training. The only negative about being on the graduate scheme, he says, is that you pick up projects that have already been started and then you have to hand them over to someone else to finish, which can be frustrating. ‘You build up a good team and then you have to start again. But it’s not such a big deal really – as you do it more often you get used to it.
‘And there’s a good support network. You’re mentored by various line managers and there are other graduates on the scheme. You get appraisals in which a personal development plan is set up, with objectives for the next 12 months. These are reviewed by your manager, HR and an independent process engineer.’
He feels he has had good grounding in the technical side of the business and is putting it into practice by managing technical projects in his current role.
There is no financial reward for becoming the Young Ambassador of the Year but it is not without its commitments. For example, over the coming 12 months, Harding will chair the CIA’s Future Forum, which is a network of people working in chemical businesses located in the UK who are either at the start of their career or keen to broaden their skills and ultimately voice their opinions on behalf of the UK chemical industry. This will enable Harding to contribute to the CIA’s policy and positions on key issues, and allow him to be involved in building the reputation of the chemical industries by being a key role model and by engaging with CIA stakeholders.
Other young people can relate to me and gain an insight into what it’s like to work in the industry
He will also take a place on the CIA Council and be involved in promoting the industry by visiting schools and by engaging with politicians on the Chemical Industries Working Party. ‘The incentives for getting involved are to help the industry and promote a younger viewpoint,’ he says. ‘I’m fresh-faced and other young people can relate to me and gain an insight into what it’s like to work in the industry. Also, if you want to encourage the right people into the industry, you have to make it sexy and break down stereotypes.
‘When we asked youngsters to draw what they thought people who worked in the chemical and engineering industries looked like, a pharmaceutical researcher was an old bloke in a white coat; and an engineer was a middle-aged man carrying a spanner and wearing a hard hat. It’s so important that we show them that these industries are open to everyone – men and women – if we want the best people to join.’
