Start date: 2019
Location: Leicester
“I’m halfway through my Higher Level Apprenticeship with Samworth Brothers. When I first joined, I trained to become a team leader at Melton Foods, managing operatives on the porridge production line. I spent my time shadowing other team leaders, enquiring about decisions they made and observing them throughout their day.
This on-the-job team leader training allowed me to develop my communication and interpersonal skills and also enabled me to develop new competencies such as delegation, time management and problem solving – all vital skills that I will take with me into my future career of management.
I then moved within Melton Foods from porridge to sandwiches where I gained a thorough understanding of how the sandwich production line worked.
After that I transferred to New Product Development within Bradgate Bakery where I helped to develop new products for Urban Eat. Just recently, I moved to the Process department within Bradgate where the focus is on scaling up to full production.
At the end of the three years, I will have a degree in Management and an apprenticeship qualification with the Institution of Chartered Management. The majority of the University course content is taught at Sheffield Hallam University, which I attend in block release periods. For the apprenticeship qualifications, I work on developing different KSBs (Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours), which I will be assessed on at the end of the course.
Being a Higher Level Apprentice definitely gives me the best of both worlds. It allows me to experience University lifestyle and camaraderie, while also earning a good salary. It’s a great way to gain both qualifications and experience and is a brilliant alternative to standard A-Levels and University routes. I don’t currently have a desired role once I finish the course, as I am still experiencing a variety of departments. I aim to keep an open mind for all my placements, allowing me to gain a stronger understanding of what I enjoy and how I can pursue it.
I would recommend anyone who is considering taking a Higher Level Apprenticeship to apply for the Samworth course. There’s a great people culture here, I receive excellent ongoing support, and I’m learning huge amounts.”