What it does: AB Heineken Philippines manufactures beer products through its two breweries in Laguna and Misamis Oriental.
Best known for: being the producer of well-known beer brands like Heineken and Tiger
Staff stats: more than 500 employees
Financials: approximately €24 billion in global revenue for 2020
The good bits: AB Heineken Philippines’ Asia-Pacific Graduate Program provides trainees with a chance to travel to three countries.
The not-so-good bits: Fresh grads should be comfortable with ambiguity if they decide to join AB Heineken Philippines. As the company is still a startup, there might be instances of overlapping responsibilities among employees.
ABHP started in 2016 as a 50-50 joint venture between Dutch company Heineken International and Philippines-based Asia Brewery. The joint venture company produces well-known beer brands such as Heineken and Tiger.
In 2020, ABHP transitioned to a new partnership structure. Asia Brewery will oversee the company’s brewery and distribution operations, while Heineken International will handle marketing and sales.
ABHP subsequently opened an office in Manila, following the dissolved joint venture. The company’s breweries consist of one facility in Cabuyao, Laguna, and another one in El Salvador, Misamis Oriental.
ABHP describes its employees as Pioneers. New hires should expect to wear multiple hats, as there could be some overlap in work responsibilities among employees.
Many insiders still enjoy working for the company because of agile management, friendly colleagues, and non-hierarchical culture.
The prospect of travelling to another country also seems to motivate employees to perform well. In terms of work-life balance, most employees work eight hours daily for five days per week.
A slow pace of career growth seems to be the biggest challenge for some employees. Even so, many employees choose to stay for several years. For example, the median tenure of ABHP employees is 3.3 years.
ABHP’s biggest competitor is San Miguel Brewery (SMB), which captures more than 90% of the market share in the brewery business. SMB’s market share in the premium beer segment is estimated to be approximately 95% as of 2020.
In 2020, ABHP launched the Restart Package program to help small- and mid-size enterprises to resume business after the quarantine. The program is the local counterpart of Heineken International’s global Back to the Bar campaign.
The program aims to help on-premise outlets by assisting them with marketing initiatives. ABHP also provided new beer kegs and free product replacements to different establishments in the National Capital Region and Visayas area.
Fresh grads should be unafraid to go out of their comfort zones and explore unfamiliar grounds if they decide to join ABHP. Employees should be flexible in taking on different tasks, which is part and parcel of working in a startup.
Despite a challenging workplace, the company’s graduate program seems a great choice to start a career. There’s no better way to gain a broader business understanding than travelling abroad to gain insights.
ABHP takes 27 days on average to complete the recruitment process. Fresh grads should expect up to three interview rounds once they get an invitation after applying for a job. Candidates may speak with an HR representative, the hiring manager, and a company director.
Internship applicants may only need to pass a single interview round with the HR representative. Based on previous candidates’ experience, the interviewers asked questions about:
Some candidates also said that they were asked about how they deal with uncertainty. As ABHP is a startup, this question aims to determine if the applicant intends to become a long-term employee.
Interns at ABHP may earn between Php2,000 and Php3,000 per month. Not much is known about how much the company pays APG employees. Entry-level salaries, though, may range from Php12,000 to Php27,000 depending on the role.
On average, an employee may earn Php400,000 per year, including bonuses. Insiders said that ABHP also provides allowances and shuttle service.
Fresh grads can join ABHP through its Asia-Pacific Graduate (APG) Program. Graduate trainees are groomed to become the next senior managers for the company.
APG employees work on four different assignments over a two-year term. More importantly, APG employees gain extensive experience and knowledge in four business areas:
Most APG employees have a relevant degree in any of these four business areas. Plus, they get a chance to travel across three countries in the Asia-Pacific region during the training program