Build your career. Improve how we operate. Help shape a more sustainable future.
Help us build the modern world
At Sika, we use our expertise, innovation and teamwork to help build the modern world.
For more than 100 years, we have developed specialist products and solutions that support construction and manufacturing around the globe. Our technologies are used in everything from nuclear power stations, high-speed rail links and renewable energy infrastructure to electric vehicles, superyachts and homes for families across the UK.
You may not always see the Sika name, but our products and people are behind many of the structures, systems and technologies that society relies on every day.
We are now looking for talented graduates to join our UK Operations Management Graduate Programme and help shape the future of our operations.
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:
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
Sustainability and environmental improvement
Data analysis and business intelligence
Continuous improvement and operational excellence
Digitalisation and automation
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:
Projects you could work on
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:
Qualifications
We welcome applications from graduates with a relevant degree or equivalent qualification. Suitable disciplines could include:
Your future with Sika
Operations Management is at the centre of what we achieve together. Our customers, colleagues and society rely on us to operate safely, responsibly and effectively.
Our ambition is to develop future operations leaders. High-performing graduates will have opportunities to progress into supervisory, specialist, project or leadership roles, supported by structured development, mentoring and real business responsibility.
If you are ready to learn, contribute and help shape the future of our operations, we would like to hear from you.
The Rewards
In return, we offer a competitive salary and an attractive benefits package, including:
Help us build the modern world
At Sika, we use our expertise, innovation and teamwork to help build the modern world.
For more than 100 years, we have developed specialist products and solutions that support construction and manufacturing around the globe. Our technologies are used in everything from nuclear power stations, high-speed rail links and renewable energy infrastructure to electric vehicles, superyachts and homes for families across the UK.
You may not always see the Sika name, but our products and people are behind many of the structures, systems and technologies that society relies on every day.
We are now looking for talented graduates to join our UK Operations Management Graduate Programme and help shape the future of our operations.
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
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
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 production, procurement or supply chain processes
- 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
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
Your future with Sika
Operations Management is at the centre of what we achieve together. Our customers, colleagues and society rely on us to operate safely, responsibly and effectively.
Our ambition is to develop future operations leaders. High-performing graduates will have opportunities to progress into supervisory, specialist, project or leadership roles, supported by structured development, mentoring and real business responsibility.
If you are ready to learn, contribute and help shape the future of our operations, we would like to hear from you.
The Rewards
In return, we offer a competitive salary and an attractive benefits package, including:
- 25 days annual leave rising to 28 days with service plus statutory holidays
- 37.5-hour working week
- A company pension contribution of up to 10%
- Private healthcare for you with option to add family
- Employee benefits programme incl Global Income Protection, Group Life cover 6x salary and a staff discount platform
- Opportunities for professional development and career progression within a global organisation