R&D Food Science Apprentice Review

I look after ingredient portfolios and ensuring ingredient specifications are to the required standard. This means checking them against our standards, requesting changes where necessary and working with suppliers to align on a specification. I also am able to get involved in other projects such as trialing new ingredients to get hands on experience. Some parts of my role involve business support with other R&D colleagues if they have queries about a specification or would like to use a new ingredient.

I have improved my skills at preparing for meetings, presenting and taking notes which are then used to send out post meeting emails with a summary and action points for people. I have become more critical when assessing ingredients and looking at the small differences between materials to determine what is causing differences in the functionality of these ingredients. I have learnt to work with a whole range of people with different personas.

I really enjoy the programme as I feel very engaged, get plenty of support at work and from the University and there is a great support network at Unilever for apprentices. I'm able to get involved on projects which I find interesting and feel will aid my development. Whilst the role can be monotonous at times I find there is plenty of variety.

My programme is structured so the University sets work every week with mentor meetings 4 times a year to check in on the apprentices and let line managers know what assignments and work is coming up. The lecturers are knowledgeable and there is plenty of support at work. We are told well in advance about our future summative and formative assignments.

My employer is supportive of the programme and provides 20% working time for my studies which I use to do university work set and revise previous content. I am able to talk to my mentor at work if I am struggling on any work and they will advise or give suggestions who I could talk to, to help with my uni work.

My training provider gives lots of support and we can always get in touch with lecturers if we want to explore certain topics further. I can set up calls with my tutor at university if I'm struggling or want to talk through something and they are good at advising where to start on assignments if someone is feeling lost. They suggest plenty of good reading content.

I feel the university work can be linked well to the work in the business that I do and gives me a better holistic understanding of the food industry. We learn about nutrients, processing, microbes, regulations and a lot more which can be related to the work I do. It helps me to understand why certain things are so important within the industry that I work in.

Due to COVID extra-curricular activities have been limited, but I'm aware there is netball, a gym, organised running and I'm sure a few more clubs will start to open up as lockdown restrictions ease up. Social activities are often organised within the apprentice community such as hiking up Scafell Pike.

Yes

Unilever gives plenty of support, the people are really lovely and helpful. Their apprentice community is quite big and everyone is friendly. This is great because it means you can talk to other people in a similar situation as you and line managers are always looking for opportunities to develop your skills in various projects or work.

Cliche as it sounds, be yourself. Show your genuine interest in the company and research some brands before hand, think about any initiatives Unilever have had that you can comment on. Depending on what you apply for, have an interest in the space your applying in e.g. Food R&D be interested in food, for packaging show interest and knowledge about any recent news in packaging.