Apprentice Operations Technician
SUEZ RECYCLING AND RECOVERY UK LTD
Billingham (TS23 1PY)
Closes in 14 days (Friday 22 August 2025)
Posted on 7 August 2025
Contents
Summary
When you join SUEZ, you get more than a brand-new role. Your work will help us deliver innovative and environmentally responsible solutions for water and waste management. You will get a chance to help us preserve and restore our planet’s natural capital for future generations. It’s a career that’s not only exciting, but fulfilling.
- Wage
-
£24,087 a year
- Training course
- Process industry manufacturing technician (level 3)
- Hours
-
Monday to Friday
08:30 - 16:30
37 hours 30 minutes a week
- Start date
-
Monday 15 September 2025
- Duration
-
3 years
- Positions available
-
1
Work
Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.
What you'll do at work
- You will be working at our Tees Valley Lines 1&2 Energy From Waste Facility
- You’ll be learning about the critical elements of the plant.
- You will be making sure everything runs safely and efficiently, in a way that complies with environmental legislation.
- Continuously monitor, control, assess and adjust plant processes.
- Learn how to spot and deal with any problems that may arise on the plants.
Where you'll work
Haverton Hill Road
Billingham
TS23 1PY
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
MIDDLESBROUGH COLLEGE
Training course
Process industry manufacturing technician (level 3)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Review instructions or information to understand the task.
- Plan tasks. Identify and organise resources with consideration for safety, environmental impact, quality, and cost.
- Identify hazards and risks in the workplace and personal safety and mitigation measures.
- Apply health, safety, and environmental procedures in compliance with regulations, standards, and guidance.
- Follow environment emergency procedures. For example, make area safe, evacuate.
- Apply sustainability principles for example, minimising waste.
- Apply standard operating procedures (SOPs).
- Check equipment.
- Select, check, and prepare raw materials for process for example, weighing, measuring, control and blending, conditioning, dissolving, and sanitisation.
- Set and adjust processing parameters such as temperature, pressure, speed or time, distance.
- Monitor process for example, take readings and conduct walk-arounds.
- Conduct the control of product streams to maintain specifics.
- Apply quality assurance procedures. For example, density checks, contaminant check, and take samples for laboratory testing.
- Apply intermediate or post-manufacturing procedure for example, labelling, packing, storage, visual inspection, discharge.
- Manage waste streams.
- Clean equipment for example, boil-outs, steam-outs, bake-outs, steam in place SIP, clean in place (CIP).
- Conduct calculations for example, conversations, tare weight, charge weights, yield calculations.
- Store tools and equipment.
- Identify equipment for handover.
- Apply signage and access restriction measures.
- Shut down the process and equipment.
- Isolate process and systems.
- Complete isolation checks.
- Empty equipment for example, drain, purge, vent, and de-pressure.
- Purge, fill, pressurise and leak test.
- Complete post maintenance equipment checks.
- Line-up equipment.
- Connect service connections such as water, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic for chemical or petrochemical processing.
- De-isolate process, mechanical and electrical systems.
- Complete pre-start up checks.
- Start-up plant and equipment.
- Re-start process.
- Record or enter information - paper based or electronic.
- Interpret data for example, process data, quality control and test procedure data.
- Interpret drawings and graphs.
- Identify issues for example, defects, deviations, process variance, and maintenance requirements.
- Escalate issues outside limits of responsibility.
- Apply problem solving and fault-finding techniques.
- Apply continuous improvement techniques. Make a suggestion for improvement.
- Use information and digital technology for example, management information systems, human machine interfaces, word processing, spreadsheet, email, virtual learning platforms, document sharing platforms. Comply with cyber security requirements.
- Produce written documents for example, handover notes or emails, non-conformances, design change requests.
- Communicate with others verbally for example, colleagues and stakeholders.
- Apply team working principles.
- Plan how to meet personal development needs. Carry out and record planned and unplanned learning and development (CPD) activities.
- Review instructions or information to understand the task.
- Plan tasks. Identify and organise resources with consideration for safety, environmental impact, quality, and cost.
- Identify hazards and risks in the workplace and personal safety and mitigation measures.
- Apply health, safety, and environmental procedures in compliance with regulations, standards, and guidance.
- Follow environment emergency procedures. For example, make area safe, evacuate.
- Apply sustainability principles for example, minimising waste.
- Apply standard operating procedures (SOPs).
- Check equipment.
- Select, check, and prepare raw materials for process for example, weighing, measuring, control and blending, conditioning, dissolving, and sanitisation.
- Set and adjust processing parameters such as temperature, pressure, speed or time, distance.
- Monitor process for example, take readings and conduct walk-arounds.
- Conduct the control of product streams to maintain specifics.
- Apply quality assurance procedures. For example, density checks, contaminant check, and take samples for laboratory testing.
- Apply intermediate or post-manufacturing procedure for example, labelling, packing, storage, visual inspection, discharge.
- Manage waste streams.
- Clean equipment for example, boil-outs, steam-outs, bake-outs, steam in place SIP, clean in place (CIP).
- Conduct calculations for example, conversations, tare weight, charge weights, yield calculations.
- Store tools and equipment.
- Identify equipment for handover.
- Apply signage and access restriction measures.
- Shut down the process and equipment.
- Isolate process and systems.
- Complete isolation checks.
- Empty equipment for example, drain, purge, vent, and de-pressure.
- Purge, fill, pressurise and leak test.
- Complete post maintenance equipment checks.
- Line-up equipment.
- Connect service connections such as water, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic for chemical or petrochemical processing.
- De-isolate process, mechanical and electrical systems.
- Complete pre-start up checks.
- Start-up plant and equipment.
- Re-start process.
- Record or enter information - paper based or electronic.
- Interpret data for example, process data, quality control and test procedure data.
- Interpret drawings and graphs.
- Identify issues for example, defects, deviations, process variance, and maintenance requirements.
- Escalate issues outside limits of responsibility.
- Apply problem solving and fault-finding techniques.
- Apply continuous improvement techniques. Make a suggestion for improvement.
- Use information and digital technology for example, management information systems, human machine interfaces, word processing, spreadsheet, email, virtual learning platforms, document sharing platforms. Comply with cyber security requirements.
- Produce written documents for example, handover notes or emails, non-conformances, design change requests.
- Communicate with others verbally for example, colleagues and stakeholders.
- Apply team working principles.
- Plan how to meet personal development needs. Carry out and record planned and unplanned learning and development (CPD) activities.
Training schedule
You will be working towards a Processing Industry Manufacturing Technician Level 3 apprenticeship.
Requirements
Essential qualifications
GCSE in:
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- IT skills
- Problem solving skills
- Team working
- Interest in Engineering
About this employer
SUEZ recycling and recovery UK is one of the country’s leading providers of innovative recycling and waste management services. We employ more than 5,500 people in the UK and since 1988, have been managing waste for our local authority and business customers. SUEZ has had a presence in the North East for over 25 years and currently employs 516 people in the region across 33 sites. SUEZ currently operates two existing energy-from-waste facilities and a household waste recycling centre at the Haverton Hill Industrial Estate in Billingham.
After this apprenticeship
Potential permanent position upon successful completion of the apprenticeship program.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
MIDDLESBROUGH COLLEGE
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000336164.
Apply now
Closes in 14 days (Friday 22 August 2025)
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