Product Development Apprentice Review

Developing new food products under various brands. Working on recipes, ingredients, nutrition and costs. Presenting developments to marketing. Attending factory trials of new recipes to make sure they run correctly.

Yes, I have developed soft skills like time management, communication, and mentoring. I have of course learned a range of technical skills relating to my role and the wider industry I work in. The apprenticeship really helped me develop my skills, as the combination of class room and on-the-job learning allowed me to apply what I was learning.

I massively enjoyed my time as an apprentice and would not change the experience! I have learned so much and developed some great working relationships. The apprenticeship really suited my learning style so was absolutely the best option for me.

The course was well organised and structured, and the team at Hallam were very helpful with solving any problems we had as a cohort. From the work side, I would have loved to see a more structured programme, with team rotations and more opportunities for learning outside my normal working day. That said, I found my time as an apprentice incredibly rewarding despite this, and I could really make the role my own.

Premier Foods were very supportive, and I was given all the time I needed to complete my university work. I also had the chance to spend some time with other teams which was great to build experience. Everyone I asked for help with my assignments was very supportive which I really appreciate. I even had the change to move to a new team full-time towards the end of my apprenticeship and Premier made this a smooth experience.

Hallam were very supportive too. Along with quarterly catch ups with my work based learning coach, I was always able to reach out to someone at uni if I needed anything. The team were very receptive of feedback and worked with us to make any changes to the course where possible. The teaching staff generally did a great job of making classes engaging and informative.

The degree course has taught me a great deal about the food industry which I am sure will be invaluable. Not only have I learned about my role and all the skills that go along with it, I have also learned about how the wider food industry works as a whole. I have also gained insight into other companies through sharing experiences with my course mates.

We have an annual conference, which is business focused but a great opportunity to network with others from around the company. There are some clubs on my site but I haven't engaged with these. Every year we have a group of placement students join the team, and we have a team day out to get to know the new students and say goodbye to the previous group. As a whole, the people in my department are all fantastic, great to work with, and one of the reasons I love working at Premier Foods

Yes

Premier is a great place to work. We have such a wide range of brands, food processing technologies, and projects to work on. The people are fantastic and the work environment is flexible.

Go for it! Research the company's brands and think about how the products are made. Think about what challenges there are in the industry at the moment and how we might tackle them. Most importantly be yourself!