Career Stories

Is the food industry where you're heading? Daniel has some great advice

Daniel Ramsey, General Manager, North Island Mussels Limited

What did you want to be when you were 16?
I wanted to be a farmer.

What did you end up doing when you left school?
I completed a Bachelor of Technology (Food) degree at Massey University. From there I have built a career developing and optimising processes and teams that make food products.

Describe a day in your life at work:
Most of my time is spent looking at what is going on in the business and talking to my team about what is and is not going well. I then help to solve problems that are preventing targets being achieved. I also spend time looking into the future to see what else we can do to make the business better. I speak to customers and suppliers about products and services and negotiate deals to purchase/sell products.

Why do you love your job/career?
I love to make things work better and to see people enjoying their work. I also have a passion for making healthy food products.

How did you get into your career?
After getting my degree I progressed through a number of technical roles while developing my leadership and management skills. This took a number of years as these skills can only be learnt by experience.  

What qualifications did you study?
I have a Bachelor of Technology (Food) from Massey University.

Do you have any advice for getting into your sector?
Food processing is a diverse and very rewarding career choice. Most food processing operations rely on a combination of people, machinery and very controlled processes to make the end products that we see on the supermarket shelves. This means that you need great people skills, an understanding of how machinery works, technical skills on how to keep food safe to eat and financial management skills to keep costs under control. Not many jobs require this broad range of skills so there is rarely a dull moment!

What do you wish you had done differently?
I only worked hard enough at School and University to get a pass mark. This limited my choices when it came to getting my first job. If I had put in more effort I would have started my career earning more and would have progressed faster.

What would you say to your teenage self about defining your future?
Back yourself and don't be afraid of failure. Not trying because you are scared of not succeeding will prevent you from achieving your full potential.