Food Manufacturing Apprentice Review

In this Food Manufacturing Apprenticeship your daily tasks involve learning about the various processes which are involved in making confectionary. You will be working with different people from different areas of the factory to get an in depth understanding of how eat product is made. You will also have the opportunity to work in small groups with people from different teams to solve issues in the factory which will in turn help the business' asset intensity. In your first year you will work your way around the factory and help all of the teams out with day to day tasks such as quality checks, stock takes and assisting with the running of machinery.

With this apprenticeship you gain a qualification in Food and Drink Operations (Level 3) at kirklees college in huddersfield. You will recieve training within the factory in problem solving and sensory testing along with others. I have learnt a lot whist in my sugar placement about the machinery itslef and how it all works. I have alos learnt the importance of creating standards so that everyone in the factory is working to the smae level as each other. the training standards that i have recieved are very high from both external and internal trainers.

This is a great opportunity for you as you will be working within the largets food and drink manufacturer in the world. The people working in this facotry are mostly friendly and will help you with anything if they are able to do so. If they are unable they will send you to the correct person so that your learning isn't affected. You will be in a team of five people all of which will start at the same time so you will never feel like you are on your own. Your line manager is very supportive and has set up a lot of recources for you to make your learning easier.

I feel very valued within my role at the company. My line manager thanks us often for the work that we have done on various tasks. At Nestle we have an internal recognition system in which you can recognise someone for doign something which is above and beyond what they are expected to do. In this apprenticeship you will also be expected to network outside of the company with schools and such. We often recieve external recognition from schools and colleges for the work we have done for them. We are quite often asked to help out with projects across the factory. This shows that our point of view is valued.

The first year of your apprenticeship is very organised. There is a year planner which tells you where you are going to be every week of the year. The only problem with this is that sometimes it is hard to keep to this plan as other factors get in the way such as college weeks and training.

The college that we go to is in Huddersfield so accessability isnt too hard. You go away for three one week placements throughout your first year and you get a visit from the college tutor once a month so that they can check up on your progress. You go to college with people from other nestle factories so it is a good experince to compare with them how your apprenticeships are going.

Our line manager has set aside time every two weeks to have a one to one session with us to see how we are doing and to check on our progress. This is a really good way to say how you really feel about your working life. People acroos the factory are generally nice and supportive towards you. You will find the odd few who are unwilling but there is always someone you can find witht the right answer to help you.

With this apprenticeship being based within the north east the living cost is quite low so the salary you get is more than enough to help you through. Newcastle has a great public trasport system. The Metro station is a 5-10 minute walk from the factory and they arrive around every 13 minutes. You can get annual passes to save money on travel which means that you don't need a car to work here.

The company often travel to local schools to network the company. We also have to do a community project with local young people as part of the apprentice of the year challenge that we are taking part in. The factory also have family open days which you can help out with if you would like to show of the company that you work for.

Yes

With nestle being such a large company it opens up a lot of opportunites to go wherever and do what ever you want. They are making a massive push with youth employment at the moment so really do care about you as a person. They treat you fairly and help you out with any issues. With it being such a large company a person might feel asif they can get loast in the crowd but the way i have been treated contradicts this.

When applying give the answers you feel are right for you not what you think the company wants to hear. Take your time with the online assessments as you can only do these once. When goign to the interview days dont be too nervous as it is a very relaxed environment and the people there want to see you do well.