Isabel Brady_employee profile

“I started my apprenticeship with Bühler at age 18. At first, I spent a lot of time explaining the apprenticeship model to friends and family, and they had a hard time believing that a company would invest so much time and money in a young adult with no job skills. Instead of sitting in a university with 300 people learning about machines, I was able to trouble shoot them with an expert, and learn the ins and outs of particular machines in person.”

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Honing my skills

“It was a challenge to choose a career path that was so unfamiliar and so different than what my friends were doing at first. However, the three years helped ease me into the industry and build my confidence, and the experiences I had were not only educational in the workplace, but also crucial to my development as a person.

I began my apprenticeship at Bühler the summer after graduating high school. In the first year as an apprentice, I started learning about the company directly by working at Bühler: assisting wherever possible, familiarizing myself with basic tools and skills and tackling small projects.

Along with this hands-on experience, I began attending classes at Dunwoody College of Technology in Minneapolis. During the second year I advanced my skills and knowledge in electronics, fabrication, engineering, machinist math, electrical theory, and much more through continuing to work at the plant and attend classes.

In the second year, I started to really get to know the people at Bühler, make connections and learn about jobs that I could possibly attain. I realized through this experience that there were so many more careers and job opportunities than I had pictured as a high schooler. The field of jobs I had envisioned was only a small portion of the vast amount of opportunities there really were, and are still in my future. In the third year, I was able to hone my skills in areas that interested me and aligned with my talents while still assisting in the shop and on job sites.”

Three years of highlights

“The apprenticeship offers the unique opportunity of trying out many different jobs before committing to one. This not only benefits the apprentices, but the company gains dedicated employees who are well educated and familiar with the workings of the company from the ground up. In addition to the standard opportunities mentioned above, I was fortunate to participate in several eye-opening events.

After the first year, I participated in the American Solar Energy Race, in which a diverse team of Bühler apprentices and employees built a solar car and raced across five states in the United States.

Another incredible opportunity I got was to be an ambassador at the One Young World Conference in Bogotá, Colombia in 2017. There I participated with 1,300 people in a non-profit movement which aims at bettering the world in terms of sustainability, equality, sharing of resources, and more.

I also got to speak in the United States Congress and meet congresspeople to promote the apprenticeship model. Another great opportunity was participating in the Bühler Innovation Challenge. Cellular agriculture could open new horizons for food and feed production, especially considering the environmental challenges we are faced with. Cells as a new source of protein could for instance be a part of the solution to reduce our dependence on fish meal, soy or corn for animal nutrition in the future. Also, this new type of agriculture no longer requires arable land which could help alleviating the pressure on our ecosystem. This could be very disruptive but it is also a great opportunity for us to enable the processing of tomorrow’s crops and fulfill our sustainability goals with our partners and customers.”

Always seek opportunity

“The most important lesson I learned though was to seek opportunity. Since my apprenticeship I have continued to develop myself and push towards the future I want. For example, I was able to work in Ethiopia and present my team’s project to our CEO and other influential executives in Switzerland.

There’s always more to learn at Bühler, and with our digital strategy, I believe that we’re given the unique chance to grow with the changes that are coming our way and use them to our advantage.”

The apprenticeship offers the unique opportunity of trying out many different jobs before committing to one. This not only benefits the apprentices, but the company gains dedicated employees who are well educated and familiar with the workings of the company from the ground up.

Isabel Brady,
Single Machine Business Application Specialist, US