Kathryn Grant

Beet Processing Manager

British Sugar

AB Sugar celebrating our women in business

Kathryn will be celebrating her 10 year anniversary at British Sugar later this year after joining as a graduate straight out of university. She is a passionate ambassador for women in STEM careers and continues to inspire others through her work with WISE (Women in Science and Engineering). Kathryn comments:

"Embrace every opportunity and say yes when you can."

Championing STEM careers

“Through my work with WISE where I am a board member, I have built up an understanding of the challenges that businesses face when recruiting women into STEM roles and helped to devise possible ways that this can be overcome. Over the years, I have been involved in visiting local schools to take part in activities with young female students who are interested in engineering for example. It’s very rewarding to inspire the next generation and help develop a pipeline of talent for the business. It’s important to me to share advice and guidance and promote the many opportunities of working in a STEM career, and I hope my journey acts as inspiration to those who are just starting out on theirs.”

From graduate to manager

“I joined the business on the graduate shift manager development scheme, starting out at the Newark factory for 18 months. I then moved to Wissington where I finished my scheme and consolidated my learning. Working at one of Europe’s largest beet sugar factories was definitely a steep learning curve but it really helped my confidence to grow. I then had the opportunity to return back to Newark as a Process Manager with responsibility for the operation of an entire factory area – an opportunity I simply couldn’t refuse.

“No two days are the same when working with a raw material like sugar beet. Part of my role now is to look at how we can make our process even more reliable and cost effective, while ensuring that we run a safe and stable operation day-to-day. I support the development of the processing team, providing regular coaching sessions which is a great experience and I get as much out of it as the individuals too.

“In the future I would like to become a factory manager and know that all the experiences and opportunities I have undertaken over the past decade will help me to achieve this ambition.”

My advice to those starting out…

“Embrace every opportunity and say yes when you can. People are important in business; always remember this and you will build essential relationships that will support you thought your entire career.”