Sabrina MacDonald, Innovation Project Manager, Saica Pack. Image courtesy of PPG
Following her passion for art and design at school, Sabrina applied for a trainee National Development Centre (NDC) designer role at Saica Pack after seeing an advert in the paper. Saica Pack is part of Saica Group, a European leader in sustainable packaging solutions. Not only was Sabrina the first NDC trainee to be hired externally but at the time, she was the only women in a team of nine and has carved out her career path to become an Innovation Project Manager, holding the position for nearly three years.
After studying Art & Design, Resistant Materials (woodwork) & Business Studies for GCSEs, she did Product Design and Art & Economics A Levels followed by a Foundation course in Art & Design specializing in 3D design at university. Itching to start earning money, Sabrina started working in hospitality, rising to restaurant manager — her first managerial role. Having thought that she would need to complete her university degree before she could secure a design role, Sabrina was thrilled when her portfolio impressed Saica Pack without the need for a degree.
Sabrina recalls that she knew nothing about corrugated packaging or boxes when she applied for the position but puts her success down to being a keen learner. Grateful for the opportunity to work in a role where she could learn new things, she made the most of the job, always wanting to stay busy with a flowing to-do list. After two years, Sabrina became a fully-fledged NDC designer and set about learning as much as possible when she had time, such as shadowing the creative team and taking over the maternity cover role of a lab technician.
When the lab technician didn’t return after her leave, Sabrina picked up her role as part of her job, which she credits as giving her the insight, knowledge, and background to better her career. Similarly, when part of the creative team moved onto another role within Saica, she picked up that role, too. With the trio of skills encompassing the technical (performance & testing) side, structural (how the box folds) side, and the graphic design side, Sabrina set the bar for the hiring process requiring these three skillsets.
In between driving her career forward, during COVID times, Sabrina navigated working from home while pregnant, crediting Saica Group with speedily setting up her home office. After taking six months maternity leave, she came back to work full time to continue on her career path and learning.
Sabrina’s development at Saica has been supported by continuous training and development, including site visits, various courses, and even an apprentice qualification, which she fitted in around her work. The visits to other plants gave her insight into other areas of the wider company, with photoshop and illustrator courses helping to enhance her skills. Meanwhile, the level-three apprenticeship in Printing and Graphic Communications – PrePress – has helped enable her to present to customers and other teams.
When Sabrina was hired, she was the only woman on the NDC team of nine as well as the youngest at 25. Currently, she is part of a team where there are three women out of seven team members, enjoying the flexibility to work from home and adjust her hours to meet the demands of a busy home as well as work life. She is proud that it is now a more diverse workplace and, like Saica Group, welcomes women into an industry full of opportunity for those hungry to progress.
