Engineering Apprenticeship

Faye is over two years into her Engineering apprenticeship, having decided university wasn't for her as she was a more practical, hands-on learner. After looking on the Government website for roles that might interest her, she came across Nestlé and saw the opportunity to pursue an apprenticeship that offered her a clear career path where she felt confident she could thrive and develop. She currently works at Nestlé's York factory and visits Liverpool for college on block release.

Skills beyond the shop floor

Since starting, I've been able to experience a wide range of procedures and projects, putting me in a good position to keep developing new skills. I work on some of the most iconic British brands and have recently spent a year working on Aero.

What I find most interesting as an engineer is seeing how the different parts of the manufacturing processes work. We are responsible for responding to any breakdowns on the line, which produce millions of products every day in York, so it's a challenging role that requires quick problem-solving skills, but it's so rewarding.

We're also in charge of undertaking planned maintenance on the machines so that we can ensure they are running smoothly, and fewer breakdowns will occur. As part of this, we also write up documents so we can review our methodology.

I'm a practical learner, so the opportunity to be hands on complements my skillset.

Making a difference

We are always reviewing to see if we can make operations more efficient and streamlined and often the idea for a new project will stem from something else we've been working on.

Recently I've played a key role on the refurbishment of one of the factory's chocolate lines. We were tasked with restoring the line back to its optimal conditions and helped to install a new drive assembly. This was a complex process, but it ensured the lines will run without a hitch in the future.

My advice

Don't be put off applying for an apprenticeship in engineering if you don't know anything beforehand, you'll learn all the skills you need along the way. However, it's important to be self-driven, confident and be good at working in a team.

An apprenticeship in something like engineering is a fantastic opportunity to learn skills you didn't know you could have, all while earning money to support your own future.