Unilever gives trainees chance to sink or swim

From Lipton tea to Dove personal wash, many of the best-known products we use at home are made by Unilever. The company has an extensive range of well-known products and is continually launching innovative items to meet consumer demand.

The Unilever management training programme offers trainees a special opportunity to join this dynamic and evolving company and gain extensive hands-on experience in managing famous brands.

'Unilever is a leading, fast-moving consumer goods company,' said Jacqueline Chan, a senior human resources manager. 'Everything changes so fast. We expect trainees to adapt to the fast pace, so we closely supervise their training and devote a lot of opportunities and resources to help them grow.'

The programme is meant as a fast track into management positions, packing about five years of training and experience into just two. It gives trainees a lot of responsibility right from the start and backs this up with extensive training.

Trainees undergo an 18-month placement in a marketing or customer development function. Those in the marketing team manage a wide array of products and drive the respective categories, in addition to closely monitoring market trends and analysing consumer needs to make sure the brands are adding vitality to consumers' lives. They also have to develop and execute integrated communication plans through the media and in stores.

Trainees in the customer development team have to work with the marketing team and the retailer to ensure the right stock is placed in the store at the right time. They have to think ahead all the time by introducing new initiatives to keep retailers excited and they must deal with practical challenges such as logistics. After the 18-month period, trainees join the other team for six months.