Kraft Heinz, Avara Foods and Pickstock back new Telford College engineering apprenticeship
Three major food and drink manufacturers, Kraft Heinz, Avara Foods and Pickstock, have partnered with Telford College to design a new Level 3 Food and Drink Maintenance Engineering apprenticeship, aimed at closing a skills gap affecting the sector’s engineering workforce.
The qualification will be available to Telford College students from September and is intended to train apprentices in the specific technical skills required by food and drink businesses, a sector that contributes £2.4 billion in Gross Value Added to the West Midlands economy.
Left to right: Engineering manager at Kraft Heinz Ben Groom, pictured with Lawrence Wood, principal and chief executive of Telford College, Kraft Heinz site director Anton Hickey and Sarah Davies, executive director of partnerships
Addressing a sector-wide skills gap
According to David Moreton, head of apprenticeships at Telford College, the initiative followed feedback from employers attending the college’s Employer Skills Hubs, where manufacturers raised concerns about recent changes to engineering apprenticeship standards.
“Traditional engineering apprenticeships have moved towards a mechatronics focus, and as a result many of the core practical skills that food and drink manufacturers depend on have been stripped out – skills such as machining, welding and electrical maintenance,” Moreton said.
He added that the new apprenticeship “restores those skills” within a food and drink manufacturing context, covering areas such as stainless steel production lines, food-safe lubricants and the specialist materials used across the sector.
Employer input shaping the curriculum
Chris Field, employer relationship manager at Telford College, said the partnership model was central to the apprenticeship’s design. “We wanted employers to put their stamp on this apprenticeship,” he said, noting that competition from larger employers, an ageing workforce and gaps in multi-skilled mechanical and electrical knowledge were driving manufacturers to “grow their own talent.”
Anton Hickey, site director for Telford-based Kraft Heinz, described recruitment of appropriately skilled engineers as an ongoing challenge. “We can recruit engineers but getting engineers with the right skills within the food and drink sector which is a fast-changing environment is difficult so this is a real opportunity for us with the help of Telford college to be able to mold our own apprentices with the skills we need specifically for this site,” he said.
Industry backing from major employers
Michael McCoole, engineering operations manager at Avara Foods, one of the UK’s largest poultry processors with around 6,000 employees, said the company was “proud to be working alongside Telford College and industry partners to help develop this new apprenticeship.” He added that such programmes “ensure our sector has access to the specialist skills and knowledge needed to maintain high standards and support innovation in a fast-moving industry.”
Apprenticeship track record
The first cohort of apprentices under the new standard will begin their training this September. Telford College also runs an Apprenticeship Plus initiative, offering employers optional bolt-on training to upskill existing staff.
The college reported that last year it trained 31 mechatronic maintenance apprentices, achieving a 100 per cent overall pass rate.
- Food and drink businesses interested in partnering with Telford College on the apprenticeship can contact field@telfordcollege.ac.uk or david.moreton@telfordcollege.ac.uk.
