NEAR PEER PROFILE TEAMMATE SPOTLIGHT

Safety Coordinator, Nucor Steel Arkansas

Hometown: Brookland, AR

Age: 42

Years with Nucor: 23 years

BLUEPRINT: What’s your background?

BETH WREN: Before Nucor-Yamato, I was a nutritionist for a hospital. I started as a contractor doing diabetes education and health and wellness programs for health and safety, and it ended up turning into a full-time position.

BP: What does your job entail now?

BW: I work with the new-hire processing, training them for the safety department.

BP: Are there opportunities for new teammates to have an immediate impact on safety?

BW: The new teammates bring in a new set of eyes. If they see something unsafe, Nucor culture lets them ask the question, ‘Why are we doing that? Can we do this differently?’ It empowers and helps new teammates to know they are just as much a part of our safety culture as teammates who’ve been here for 30 years.

BP: What have you learned by working for Nucor that everyone should know?

BW: The career possibilities are endless.

BP: What would you say to someone who thinks they lack the training for a job at Nucor?

BW: Nucor really wants to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to training. Using our department as an example, we train new hires with a 10-hour class. After they are hired, we continually train people to meet the needs of the business. We just got certified in mental health first -aid because we have seen mental health as a growing issue. We also have first responder training; we have multiple teams for emergency response and high-angle rescue, and we do that training onsite. That training is a huge opportunity for teammates because when we get these certifications it’s not just a Nucor certification, it’s something teammates can take with them for the rest of their career.

What I tell people is yes, the pay is wonderful, but what you gain from here and how you grow here is even more valuable.