Can you tell us a bit about yourself, what course you studied and what you've been doing since you graduated?

My name is Eloise Butler and I grew up in West Yorkshire. I attended Leeds Beckett to study business studies after studying this at Leeds City College. I graduated in 2023 with a first and have gone on to work in procurement in the nuclear industry on the NDA Group Graduate scheme. Since starting the scheme, I have completed an NSAN course which has helped me develop an understanding of the history and science of Nuclear Energy. I have also started my CIPS course and spent time with my cohort on a variety of training modules. I am currently on secondment with Nuclear Transport Solutions and have been working under the Transport & Logistics and Corporate, People & IT categories.

How has your experience studying at Leeds Beckett influenced you and your career?

I studied BA (Hons) Business Studies, starting my course in September 2019. This meant that I got to experience all types of learning from pre-COVID being fully in-person, to then being predominantly online learning. I then took a placement year working partly from the office and partly from home and then we were back in person for my final year. I think this difficult time has given myself and other students some great skills to help us be more flexible and adaptable. I also think I was lucky to have taken part in a consultancy module where we worked in groups to solve problems for business which the university is linked to. My team ended up doing research into sustainable logistics which supported my knowledge development towards the role which I am in now. This project also gave us the chance to work with and present to staff from the start-up to learn skills around communication and presentations.

What highlight do you remember from your course?

As part of my course, I had the opportunity to take a placement year module. I worked for Leeds Beckett on the sustainability team for a year and this really gave me a great chance to get into the world of work, take on responsibility for work projects, and learn about sustainability in organisations. I had always wanted to work in something which supports a green industry and this role really cemented this for me and led me to apply to roles such as the one which I am in now supporting the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Did the course prepare you for your career and if so, how?

With the placement year, the consultancy project and other modules, I really felt ready to start work after the course, as I had been able to be responsible for a range of projects and worked in a variety of ways to get strong outcomes for them. I learnt how to work independently and as part of a group for both in person and online work, and developed the business knowledge to start in this role.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about studying this course?

I would say look at every opportunity given to you at Leeds Beckett as there are some great development opportunities available. I would also say to push your learning in a direction which you find interesting, so for me that was writing my reports to include sections around the sustainability of a business and considering how they impact the world. I liked this business studies course as it had a sustainability option module pathway which meant that I got to take a module on Global Responsibility & Sustainability. I think this is something which students need to consider too before starting your course – what modules are you really interested in, and which course best aligns with this.

Are you now collaborating with Leeds Beckett in any way?

As a part of my scheme, I can spend time promoting STEM industry careers and I have spent some of these supporting applicant days and doing guest lectures with Leeds Beckett. I have also supported a variety of online events through presentations and interviews for a younger audience. As somebody who grew up in Yorkshire, I never really knew about the range of careers within the nuclear industry until I started looking into graduate schemes, so it is really important to me personally that there is more information for young people about the industry. Whilst it is a STEM heavy industry, there are plenty of non-STEM roles from Procurement to Project Management to Finance.

What are your plans for the future?

My next secondment will be working with Sellafield in procurement, and I will then finish up my graduate scheme. After this I would like to continue to gain experience in procurement and hope to be able to have a positive influence in the organisations I work for in terms of buying with sustainability in mind.