Apprentice Tea Product Developer Review

My job is a tea research scientist in which I mainly do product development and quality control. The daily tasks I undertake involve designing tea blends, making tea blends, tasting tea blends and writing reports on my findings. My job is very broad as I work with multiple teams across the tea company. I am responsible for my own work and have various targets to meet each year. The projects range from global to regional and across most brands.

I have achieved a first class honours degree in Food Science and Technology at Nottingham Trent University since I started my apprenticeship. I have also completed various trainings at Unilever for example, food safety level 2, manual handling, flavour training at Firmenich. The range of courses offered at Unilever is very vast and can be both job specific and important for everyone. There is plenty of opportunity to learn something new at Unilever. They also have professional skills development workshops.

I have LOVED my apprenticeship. The work is current, exciting and involves real life products which means that the work you do will go onto improving the lives of people. The teams in Unilever are very different in how they work, but they are full of wonderful people who you can easily learn from. The culture is a 'no question is stupid so ask lots of questions' environment which is perfect for apprentices.

I feel very valued at Unilever. The managers are all pushing you into being the best you can be, and always looking for something for you to be involved in to learn about this and that. There is never any negativity towards apprentices and they are treated equally. The internal and external recognition events have quite a high apprentice nomination and achievement record. I have won 3 awards in my 3 years at Colworth.

It is extremely well organised. Unilever has its own 'online university' which you can download and sign up for various learnings. There is always training and people available to help you become better. The support I got when doing university work was overwhelming, everyone was happy to help guide you to the right answer and teach you more. We have a mentor, buddy and line manager system which means that help is easy to get.

My university tutor was always available via email and phone and was happy to help. I felt that even though I was only part-time, they valued me as a full-time student and always made time for me. They had an online portal for guidance and support which was easy to access and navigate. The general attitude of the tutors was a great level of respect and supportiveness. I loved my time at university.

I have had 3 managers, as I have rotated around the business during my apprenticeship and they have all been very understanding and supportive when it came to university work and developing my work at Unilever. The HR team onsite have been brilliant, even though I only ever had 1 problem. My mentor has been valuable and I still use her now even after finishing my degree. The general guidance and support is faultless.

The salary is brilliant for an apprenticeship, as well as having university sully funded. I have managed to save up for a house and a car during my apprenticeship. The salary is great for a first job and meets all my needs for travel, living costs, social events. It is also in keeping with the cost of living for the area.

Yes there are so many opportunities outside of work. The company puts on a Christmas dinner each year which is the best event in the yer. They also have sports clubs you can join, a gym, a clubhouse, drama society, bands, choir and so much more. They also allow you to take 3 days volunteering each year and always have events on.

Yes

It is such a good friendly environment to work in and to develop yourself as a person. The company has great ethics and does a lot for the environment as well as its staff. They treat each person as a valued asset and are very welcoming to all.

Make sure you submit a catching cover letter and a well written CV. The interview and phone interview processes are hard but they are looking for people who have the right personality as they know you need to learn a lot. Make sure you do as much as you can in your spare time experienced wise to gain lots of examples of things you have achieved.