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Source: inovativnost.mk
Developing professional skills opens up greater career opportunities, creates a path toward a better future, and improves prospects in today’s labor market. At the same time, qualified employees who continuously invest in their personal and professional development make a significant contribution to their company’s competitiveness.
Halime Redzhepi is a Food Technologist and Production Manager at Veze Shari. She participated in the training programs delivered through the workforce development partnership between M6 Educational Centre and the Government of Switzerland. In this interview with Inovativnost, she shares her experience of investing in her professional development and advancing within her company. Redzhepi describes this as a true win-win situation—one that has helped her progress in her career while simultaneously contributing to the company’s success and competitiveness.
Interview by Sanja Naumovska
You are the Production Manager at Veze Shari. What are your responsibilities as both a Food Technologist and a Production Manager? Could you explain which aspects of the business you are involved in?
As a Food Technologist, I am responsible for ensuring that all food safety and quality measures are properly implemented. In practice, this means carefully monitoring compliance with standards and procedures such as HACCP and ISO, overseeing the quality of raw materials, optimizing production processes, and ensuring the quality of finished products. I also organize and deliver employee training sessions to ensure our team remains well-informed about the latest regulations and industry standards.s a Food Technologist, I am responsible for ensuring that all food safety and quality measures are properly implemented. In practice, this means carefully monitoring compliance with standards and procedures such as HACCP and ISO, overseeing the quality of raw materials, optimizing production processes, and ensuring the quality of finished products. I also organize and deliver employee training sessions to ensure our team remains well-informed about the latest regulations and industry standards.
As a Production Manager, my role extends to organizing and coordinating the company’s daily production activities. I work closely with the team, prepare work schedules, delegate responsibilities, and collaborate with other departments such as procurement, quality control, sales, distribution, and logistics. My goal is to ensure efficient operations while maintaining the highest standards of food quality and safety.
In other words, I am actively involved in every stage of the production process—from planning to final quality control. An important part of my role is anticipating and preventing potential issues before they arise, ensuring maximum productivity and a safe production environment.
What does it take for a woman to reach a leadership position within a company?
Achieving a managerial position is often the result of a combination of skills, mindset, and strategic actions. From my experience, one of the key factors is having strong self-confidence and clear career goals. It is equally important to actively seek mentorship opportunities and build a professional network.
In addition, continuously developing leadership, communication, and strategic thinking skills demonstrates that you are prepared to take on greater responsibilities.
How much do employers value professionals who continuously improve their skills?
Continuous professional development is highly valued in today’s labor market. When employees invest in lifelong learning, they send a strong message to employers that they are proactive, adaptable, and ready to embrace new challenges.
This not only enhances individual performance but also contributes to the overall success of the organization. Continuous learning brings several important benefits, including increased professional value, career advancement opportunities, greater job security, and a stronger competitive advantage.
Ultimately, a willingness to develop professionally strengthens both an individual’s career prospects and the long-term competitiveness of the company.
Why do you believe professional development is so important?
Professional development is truly a win-win situation. While I advance in my own career, I also contribute to the success and competitiveness of my company.
For me, professional development is about growth—both as a professional and as a person. When you invest time in learning new skills or deepening existing ones, you not only keep pace with changes in your industry but also actively prepare yourself for the future. It increases your confidence and makes your work more rewarding because every new skill feels like another step forward.
It also opens the door to new opportunities, whether that means a promotion, a more challenging project, or recognition as a valuable member of the team. Continuous learning truly makes a difference. Moreover, when everyone in a team is committed to personal growth, it creates a more innovative, dynamic, and collaborative work environment that benefits everyone.
What training programs did you attend at M6 Educational Centre? Which ones did you find the most interesting and challenging?
Recently, I participated in three valuable training programs at M6 Educational Centre:
- Resilience and Positive Adaptation
- Developing New Products as a Growth Strategy
- Mastering the Value Chain
Each training program was valuable in its own way, but I found Mastering the Value Chain to be the most challenging. It requires understanding how every stage of the value chain—from raw materials to the final product—affects efficiency, costs, and product quality.
The program demands cross-functional knowledge, strategic thinking, and strong problem-solving skills to optimize business processes. However, once these concepts are mastered, they provide a significant competitive advantage and improve overall business performance.
What knowledge and skills did you gain, and how have they benefited you both personally and professionally?
First and foremost, the training has helped me better manage stress in a fast-paced production environment. It strengthened my leadership skills by enabling me to build a positive workplace culture and motivate my team during challenging situations.
It also gave me a deeper understanding of market trends and how to better align production with customer needs. Additionally, it enhanced my strategic thinking by enabling me to assess the sustainability and profitability of new products more effectively.
What are your plans for the future? Will you continue developing new skills?
My future plans are to continue improving my knowledge and expertise within my field by taking on greater responsibilities and deepening my specialization in food safety, quality management, and production efficiency.
I am always open to learning new skills, whether through formal training, practical experience, or collaboration with industry experts. I firmly believe that continuous learning is essential to staying current with innovation and industry trends. I look forward to expanding my knowledge in areas that will further strengthen both my professional performance and my leadership capabilities.
