Who is Marc Sealy?
I am a funny and ambitious individual who has a deep love for music and family.
What do you love most about what you do?
Being a Quality Assurance Technician carries a high level of importance, where I have to ensure the quality of the final product and its ingredients are within specification for customer and consumer consumption.
A typical day at work involves the analysis of ingredients (Water, Sugar, Simple Syrup, Final Syrup and Carbon Dioxide) which are used in the making of the final beverage. Analysis is also done on the final beverages, such as the weight, Brix (sugar content), Carbon Dioxide and Torque (Closure).
The love for being a quality assurance technician just comes in knowing that a quality product of international standard is provided for consumers.
What made you decide to pursue a career in Quality Assurance?
I pursued a Bachelor's Degree in Microbiology and took a course called Food Microbiology which piqued my interest. On completing my degree, I applied to several food processing plants across the island, but was unsuccessful in obtaining any positions. I had to settle for being a clerk at one of the islands financial institutions for my first job out of university. However, I was still interested and continued to apply to different organizations. After working for 3 months with the bank, I gained the opportunity to work at the Barbados Bottling Company in the Quality Assurance Department.
Any advice for those interested in pursuing this field?
For anyone interested in getting into Quality Assurance, I recommend studying Chemistry and/or Biology at the CXC and tertiary level. Then pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in either Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology, Microbiology or Food Engineering. To obtain experience, I volunteered at a few food processing plants in my summers at university. I would also highly recommend persons who are really interested in pursuing the profession or any profession for that matter, to submit two applications. I would apply by sending my curriculum vitae and job letter by e-mail and then hand-delivering those same applications directly to HR departments, to show your persistent and level of interest in the job.
How do you manage work-life balance?
As a few people may know, I am a member of Barbados' only vocal band, G-Syndicate. The band rehearses three (3) times a week and has a regular gig at The Crane Resort every Saturday. Balancing G-Syndicate and work-life comes with planning. Nothing in this world runs smoothly unless a plan is in place. Sometimes I would finish work and have to attend rehearsals, thus walking with the essentials for rehearsals. There are times I may ask for a switch of shifts with a colleague to make performances, so having a good relationship with colleagues also helps in that regard.
What does success mean to you?
Success for me is setting a goal, then reaching and surpassing it. For example, I want to travel, share and expose Caribbean Vocal Music to the rest of the world with G-Syndicate. I also want to win Grammy awards as the Caribbean's first vocal band.
