Well I have to really thank my Mum! I had not long graduated from University and hadn’t been given much of a steer around finding a job/career. This made looking for work really daunting and I ended up taking the first job I was offered, which was in a call centre. I found the work very challenging and knew this wouldn’t be the career for me, little did I know that my Mum was applying for jobs on my behalf. One of these was a Contracts Assistant for Welsh Health Supplies. I attended the interview and was offered the job. Within a couple of months it was clear that Procurement felt like an exciting and challenging career that I could really enjoy and become passionate about.

Within Welsh Health Supplies I was given the opportunity to undertake the Chartered Institute for Purchase and Supply (CIPS) Diploma and from there advanced to the Professional Diploma, which led to my MCIPS qualification. This can now be achieved via University degree, or via your employment, so plenty of avenues to achieve the qualification if attending University isn’t for you. Welsh Health Supplies became Procurement Services and my career blossomed from Contracts Assistant to Senior Category Manager, managing a team of 15 undertaking procurement of medical consumables for all of the Welsh NHS.

Within 2022 I felt that I had achieved all I that I could within the NHS and that perhaps a change of direction would be beneficial for my career. This led me to finding a new career within PDS within a new industry, the learning and variation in work undertaken has propelled a new passion and drive. Working within the Commercial/Procurement sector there are many career avenues to explore and industries to consider working in. Most organisations rely on a Procurement/Commercial department for their purchasing needs , which provides ample opportunities and careers.