Operational apprentice Review

In my role at Stateside Foods I am exposed to all areas of the business as I have a rotational plan. This allows me to see all production roles and also office based roles, which gives me good knowledge on how all areas of the business interact to ensure the business runs efficiently

During my time at Stateside Foods I have developed my communication skills and gained more confidence by presenting meetings in front of managers and talking with staff of all levels of management, from being on the production line to spending time with the management. I have also developed new IT skills, such as using apps like SAP and MERC which show business efficiencies, through shadowing team leaders

I thoroughly enjoy my programme as I am exposed to all areas of the business and constantly learning which is something that excites me as I like to learn new things. Stateside Foods offer me a great experience to get good work experience behind me by going around all areas of the business for at least a month which will help me in the future to understand why things are done in certain ways

My programme is structured very well as I have a good work - university balance. The content that I learn at university allows me to apply certain techniques in work and to understand certain situations better for example different communication types and how to interact with different employees in certain situations depending on things such as their generation, as I have learnt that each generation varies in the way they expect to be treated and the way they interact with others.

Stateside Foods offer a great support system; I am given a mentor who is always there to support me with any problems and will be there for me until the end of my degree. We have an apprentice manager who looks after the apprentices who we can go to with any issues which can get sorted. Stateside also offer a study room with computer access for whenever I need a quiet space to do university work.

I am able to email my training providers whenever I have any questions who will reply within the same day or next day to ensure I am able to understand my assignment correctly. During university sessions, we are offered 1-to-1's which help assist with assignments if we are ever unsure and also help to go over feedback from previous assignments to improve in the future.

In university sessions we go over different business management techniques and also have to use work-based projects to assist with university assignments. This helps link university work to the work place and enables me to think out of the box and more open minded with certain situations and how to handle them in the most effective way.

Stateside Foods holds friendly football matches at the local football club which is a great way to interact with fellow employees outside of work which creates better friendships within the work place. They also hold challenges for charity that encourage staff to be involved with, for example swimming or running races. They also offer the apprentices a week away in Wales with DCO to better our learning but also be involved in team challenges

Yes

Stateside Foods have a buddy system for new starters which helps them feel more settled into their new role and to learn the role from someone else as well as having any of their mistakes corrected. This also helps new starters create good working relations with their fellow employees to make them fit into the workplace easier.

I would advise others applying to Stateside Foods to do some research on the business before the interview to show that you stand out from the others, I would also advise that you prove to be a team player and a hard worker to ensure that you will give a good impression and to show how you would benefit the business