Success Stories

Emmanuel Areikin

(Compliance Analyst)

Emmanuel Areikin joined on a temporary contract in January 2019. He had the confidence to enquire about his career development and it led to greater things. This is how it happened.

What's your story?

When I joined MTS, I was originally a temp, and given a role as a Warehouse Operative at the Halifax Depot. The role suited my family at the time as I have two boys and I wanted something that ticked me over.

Tell us a bit about your background?

I spent the earliest part of my career in Forest Management following the completion of my first degree. I then transitioned to Climate Risk Management in local government and the private sectors, focusing mainly on sustainable transport and corporate environmental sustainability after my master's degree. I have also done quite a lot of work on process management whilst implementing ISO 14001 & ISO 9001 management systems.

That's quite different from working in a warehouse.

It is, but as I said it (joining MTS) suited me at the time. But when one of my sons was in nursery, I was keen to transition from my role and find an opportunity to do something that I was trained in.

So, what happened next? How did you get to your current position?

I messaged Nat Dixey (L&D Specialist) to see what roles I could do. She asked me to send in my CV and then spoke to me about an upcoming role that she thought would be good for me to explore. I also had a chat with another manager, and I was delighted when I was offered the role of Compliance Analyst.

How have you developed in your time at MTS?

I can't tell you how massive my development has been. I have grown in so many ways. It is quite a fast-paced job, and there are targets to be hit, but there's lots of courses which help with any development and the work is quite diverse. I have had certain training (practitioner course) and MTS has given me a great chance to progress and enable me to deliver my potential. I have also had a lot of support from my managers and mentors.

Do you have any further career plans?

As mentioned, I am always looking to grow and develop. I would like to enter a higher management role at some point, but most people would like to be in a situation like that wouldn't they? I understand that there are things that you need to do to improve and all I can do is my best. I don't want to get too comfortable in my current role and want to better myself where possible.

What advice would you give for someone following in your footsteps?

Put your head down. Work hard and remember to ask questions. MTS is a big company and there will always be roles that become available and that means opportunities. I had an idea and the confidence to ask the question, but I had to make the effort, and this is very important as nothing comes from being idle.