Operations Graduates

What we offer you
We have multiple opportunities to join our two-year UK Graduate Programme.
The programme is designed to develop the technical, analytical and leadership capabilities you will need to build a successful career in operations. Our ambition is to prepare high-performing graduates to progress towards a future operational leadership position.
Through a series of structured rotations, you will experience Sika’s end-to-end operations, work alongside teams, and lead projects in areas including:
Production and manufacturing
Engineering and maintenance
Procurement and supply chain
Environment, Health and Safety
Sustainability and energy management
Data analytics and business intelligence
Continuous improvement
Automation and digitalisation
From the outset, you will be given real responsibilities and the opportunity to deliver meaningful projects with measurable outcomes.
Your role and priorities
Throughout the programme, you will support our Operations and EHS teams in maintaining high standards of safety, compliance and operational excellence. You will contribute to projects that improve how we operate today while helping us prepare for the challenges and opportunities of the future.
Safety and operational performance
Drive continuous improvement in Health & Safety performance across all operations
Proactively support Operations and EHS teams to create and maintain safe and healthy workspaces
Help the business meet its legal, regulatory and moral responsibilities
Identify, assess and implement opportunities to reduce risk and improve safety culture
Work collaboratively with colleagues across different functions and locations to embed EHS best practice and promote a culture of continuous improvement
Sustainability and environmental improvement
Support projects to reduce energy consumption, carbon emissions, waste and water usage
Analyse environmental and sustainability performance
Identify opportunities to make manufacturing processes more efficient and sustainable
Support site-level delivery of wider sustainability objectives
Help teams understand the environmental impact of operational decisions
Data analysis and business intelligence
Collect, analyse and interpret operational data
Develop dashboards and reports that support effective decision-making
Identify trends, risks and improvement opportunities
Turn complex data into clear and practical recommendations
Support the development of consistent operational performance measures
Continuous improvement and operational excellence
Review processes to identify waste, inefficiency and variation
Support Lean and continuous improvement activities
Work with operational teams to investigate problems and identify root causes
Help implement and measure process improvements
Share successful approaches across teams and sites
Digitalisation and automation
Support the introduction of digital tools and automated processes
Explore opportunities to improve productivity through technology
Help teams adopt new systems and ways of working
Contribute to projects involving emerging technologies and artificial intelligence
Evaluate whether digital solutions have delivered the intended operational benefits
During each rotation, you will deliver defined projects and demonstrate how your work has added value to the organisation.
Your development
You will be supported by a mentor, operational leaders and colleagues across the business. At the start of each rotation, you will agree clear learning objectives and development priorities.
Your development will combine hands-on experience, formal learning, internal and external training, peer support and exposure to senior leaders. You will build capability in:
Operational leadership
Data analysis and decision-making
Sustainability
Project and change management
Commercial awareness
Problem-solving and continuous improvement
Communication, influencing and collaboration
Projects you could work on
Developing a dashboard to improve visibility of operational performance
Analysing manufacturing data to identify productivity opportunities
Reducing waste, energy consumption or carbon emissions at one of our sites
Improving a production, procurement or supply chain process
Supporting the implementation of automation or new digital technology
Investigating the root cause of a recurring safety, quality or service issue
Improving inventory performance and material availability
Developing a business case for an operational investment
Helping teams measure the benefits delivered by an improvement project
What we are looking for
We are looking for driven and curious graduates who are ready to tackle the challenges involved in building the modern world.
You will be a team player who builds trust through integrity, accountability and respect. You will be eager to learn from experienced colleagues while bringing your own ideas, energy and perspective to the business.
You should be able to:
Approach challenges logically and analytically
Work confidently with data and communicate what it means
Turn ideas into practical actions
Communicate effectively with different audiences
Build positive working relationships
Remain calm and focused when priorities change
Take ownership of your work and follow through on commitments
Balance attention to detail with an understanding of the bigger picture
Demonstrate an interest in manufacturing, sustainability and technology
Show the potential and ambition to become a future operations leader
You do not need to arrive with all the answers. We are looking for people with the curiosity, adaptability and determination to learn.
Qualifications
We welcome applications from graduates with a relevant degree or equivalent qualification. Suitable disciplines could include:
Engineering
Manufacturing or operations management
Occupational Health and Safety
Supply chain or logistics
Data analytics or data science
Environmental management or sustainability
Business management
Chemistry or materials science
Other relevant technical or analytical subjects
More important than your specific degree subject will be your ability to learn, solve problems, work with others and apply your knowledge in a practical operational environment.

Employment type
Full-time

Work arrangement
No