Food Development Degree Apprentice

Summary

Kick-start your career in food innovation with Cranswick’s New Product Development (NPD) Degree Apprenticeship. Gain hands-on experience creating exciting new food products while studying for a Food Industry Technical Professional Degree at Sheffield Hallam University. Apply now to develop the next big food trend!

Wage: £21,500 a year
Minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)
Training course: Food industry technical professional (integrated degree) (level 6)
Hours: Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm.
40 hours a week
Possible start date: Monday 1 September
Duration: 4 years
Positions available: 1

Work

As an apprentice, you’ll work at a company and get hands-on experience. You’ll gain new skills and work alongside experienced staff.

What you’ll do at work

As a New Product Development Degree Apprentice, you’ll be at the heart of bringing new food products to life by:

Developing and testing new food concepts that align with customer and market trends
Assisting in recipe development, ingredient sourcing, and formulation
Supporting factory trials to ensure successful product launches.
Collaborating with chefs, food technologists, and commercial teams to refine product ideas
Understanding consumer trends and helping create food products that excite customers
Working with major UK retailers and food service brands to deliver innovative and high-quality food solutions

Where you’ll work

74 Helsinki Road
Sutton Fields Industrial Estate
Kingston Upon Hull
HU7 0YW

Training

An apprenticeship includes regular training with a college or other training organisation. At least 20% of your working hours will be spent training or studying.

College or training organisation

SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY

Your training course

Food industry technical professional (integrated degree) (level 6)

Equal to degree

Course contents

Lead, develop and implement the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system and team on site
Interpret microbiological results; spot and analyse trends to diagnose or a nticipate issues; define and implement action plans
Develop product specifications taking into account the key risk factors in product design; ensure customer pre-requisites are implemented and followed
Manage, develop and implement internal audit schedule to ensure compliance with legal, industry and customer standards; keep abreast of new standards; credibly host third party audits
Select the most appropriate tools and methodology to demonstrate compliance, food safety culture and delivery of consistent quality of products
Establish cleaning and hygiene programmes and audit methodology; set up monitoring programmes; interpret data; identify different risk zoning in an operational area and the different hygiene requirements; manage internal and external cleaning contractors
Manage complaint performance through the identification of trends and the design of corrective action programmes to improve credibility with customer
Design and implement site procedures to ensure legal compliance with current food law; lead any investigation into legal contravention with the relevant enforcement authorities
Establish process parameters and control requirements; measure the impact of process on product, set limits and take action to deal with process and product non-conformance
Optimise and control parameters that influence common industry processes: washing, mixing, heating, cooking, cooling/chilling, freezing, drying, freeze drying
Be able to liaise and co-ordinate with other functions to deliver New Product Development projects. When appropriate take the lead and drive the project
Use project management tools to deliver projects to time, cost, specification and quality
Coordinate investigations into and responses to non-conformances and participate in incident management teams; implement incident management procedure
Review and select relevant scientific techniques taking into account cost and practicalities; experiment, collect and analyse data and formulate solutions
Manage supplier intake controls; carry out supplier a udit & performance reviews and risk assessment; maintain approved supplier, contractor and vendor performance process
Design and implement traceability system fully compliant with customer and legal requirements; monitor to verify validity of process
Lead and develop a small technical team on site
Develop and demonstrate critical evaluation/analysis of complex information and data

Your training plan

Training schedule has yet to be agreed. Details will be made available at a later date.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

English (grade 4+)
Maths (grade 4+)

A Level in:

Any Subject (grade C+)

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

Communication skills
Attention to detail
Presentation skills
Team working
Creative
Initiative

Other requirements

Applicants should be aware that this apprenticeship involves hands-on factory work, including trials of new products in a manufacturing environment. You’ll gain experience with large-scale cooking methods, working with industry-leading equipment to ensure products can be successfully produced at scale.

About this company

Cranswick is a leading UK food producer with a revenue of over £2.3 billion, supplying premium food to major UK grocery retailers, the food service sector, and global customers. We are dedicated to creating high-quality, innovative food products and investing in the next generation of food industry professionals.

https://cranswick.plc.uk/ (opens in new tab)

Disability Confident

A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.

You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.

After this apprenticeship

After completing the New Product Development (NPD) Degree Apprenticeship at Cranswick, you can expect a structured career path with exciting opportunities for growth in the food industry. Typical progression includes:

Short-Term (0-2 Years Post-Apprenticeship)

NPD Technologist / Junior Product Developer – Supporting product development projects, assisting with trials, and refining recipes
Process Technologist – Overseeing factory trials and ensuring smooth product launches

Mid-Term (3-5 Years Post-Apprenticeship

NPD Manager / Product Developer – Leading development projects, working with major retail and food service customers, and managing product launches
Category Manager – Analyzing market trends and working closely with retailers to develop innovative product ranges

Long-Term (5+ Years Post-Apprenticeship

Senior NPD Manager / Head of Innovation – Driving the future of food innovation, overseeing product pipelines, and leading NPD teams
Technical Director / Head of Product Development – Shaping the overall food strategy and ensuring Cranswick remains a leader in food innovation

With Cranswick’s strong industry reputation and commitment to talent development, ambitious apprentices can build long-term, high-level careers in food innovation and beyond.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

Cranswick Country Foods PLC

Sam Foster

sam.foster@cranswick.co.uk

07443271043

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000308683.

Apply now

Closes in 29 days (Thursday 10 April)

When you apply, you’ll be asked to sign in with a GOV.UK One Login. You can create one at the same time as applying for this apprenticeship.

After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.

Company’s application instructions

Please send a CV & Cover Letter to apprenticeship.applications@cranswick.co.uk

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