Food & Drink Engineering Maintenance Apprenticeship - Sudbury

NESTLE UK LTD.

Burton-on-Trent, Cumbria, Sudbury, Trowbridge, West Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Wisbech, York

Closes on Sunday 22 February 2026

Posted on 17 December 2025

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Summary

A Level 3 Engineering Apprenticeship at Nestlé will give you the fault finding and problem solving skills you need for a fulfilling career here at the biggest food and drink manufacturer on the planet. Join our scheme and our expert mentors will support you as you establish yourself as an Engineering professional with a bright future.

• Wage:

  £21,416 a year

  Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

  The minimum salary for this opportunity is £21,416, with the salary slightly differing per site.

• Training course: Food and drink maintenance engineer (level 3)
• Hours: Shifts and hours confirmed by each individual site.

  40 hours a week

• Start date:

  Monday 3 August 2026

• Duration:

  4 years

• Positions available:

  12

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

Join our Engineering Apprenticeship scheme and begin an exciting journey towards a rewarding career with the world’s largest food and drink manufacturer. This opportunity is designed to help you develop essential fault-finding and problem-solving skills, shaping you into a confident and capable engineering professional.

Over the course of four years, you will receive guidance from our expert engineers and mentors, immersing yourself in the engineering processes that support our global operations. You’ll gain insights into the workings of complex manufacturing and process equipment, learning how to diagnose and resolve issues while ensuring the entire operation runs smoothly. Working in a fast-paced, live environment, you will be empowered to make decisions and gain hands-on experience with some of the most sophisticated equipment in food and drink manufacturing.

Step into our vibrant, multi-sensory factory environment, where you’ll drive innovation through your creativity every day. Join our team and take the first step towards a fulfilling engineering career!

Where you'll work

You can select which locations you want to apply for in your application on Find an apprenticeship.

This apprenticeship is available in these locations:

• Marston Lane, Tutbury, Burton-on-Trent, DE13 9LY
• Nestlé UK Ltd, Dalston, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA5 7NH
• Nestlé Purina PetCare, Windham Road, Chilton Industrial Estate, Sudbury, CO10 2XD
• Staverton, Trowbridge, BA14 6PG
• Nestlé UK Ltd, Albion Mills, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX3 9XT
• Cereal Partners UK, Staverton, Nr Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 6PG
• Nestlé Purina PetCare, Cromwell Road, Wisbech, PE13 2RG
• Nestlé UK Factory, Haxby Road, York, YO91 1XY

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

Training provider

NORTH WEST TRAINING COUNCIL

Training course

Food and drink maintenance engineer (level 3)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents

• Read and interpret task related information and data. For example, work instructions, SOPs, quality control documentation, Service Level Agreements, specifications, engineering representations, drawings, and graphical information, work instructions, and operation manuals.
• Plan work. Identify and organise resources to complete tasks.
• Identify hazards and control measures to mitigate risks.
• Comply with food safety regulations and procedures.
• Comply with health and safety regulations and procedures.
• Comply with environment and sustainability regulations and procedures: safe disposal of waste, re-cycling or re-use of materials and efficient use of resources.
• Select, check the condition, and safely use maintenance tools and equipment. Store tools and equipment. Complete or arrange maintenance of tools and equipment including calibration where required.
• Follow standard operating procedures and quality procedures.
• Follow site isolation and lock off procedures (lockout, tagout) and re-instatement of equipment with system checks and handover.
• Apply mechanical and fluid power system maintenance practices and techniques. For example, check levels, parts wear, pressure, and sensors, grease and lubricate parts, replace, fit components, and calibrate equipment.
• Apply electrical and control maintenance practices and techniques including use of electrical testing equipment and instruments. For example, panel risk assessment, fixed wire installation testing, fault finding, thermographic surveys, and checking protection settings.
• Apply reliability engineering techniques to prevent or reduce the likelihood or frequency of failures. For example, condition monitoring, oil sampling, thermography, vibration analysis, and ultrasound.
• Install and configure instrumentation or process control systems.
• Install and configure electrical systems. For example, add distribution boards to circuits, single and three phase motors (AC and DC).
• Assemble, position and fix equipment or components. Complete commissioning checks.
• Disconnect and remove equipment or components. Complete storage measures to prevent deterioration.
• Read and interpret equipment performance data.
• Fabricate, drill, and join to produce basic parts, spares or components to measurement and tolerance specification.
• Apply down-hand (flat) TIG welding techniques: butt and tee.
• Apply mathematical techniques to solve engineering problems.
• Produce and amend electrical and mechanical engineering representations, drawings, and graphical information. For example, for new component parts or change in circuit diagram or panel.
• Apply fault-finding and problem-solving techniques for example, using PLC data to diagnose issues and locate faults on industrial network.
• Apply continuous improvement techniques to understand current performance; collect and record data. Devise suggestions for improvement.
• Restore the work area on completion of activity.
• Resolve or escalate issues.
• Use information technology. For example, for document creation, communication, and information management. Comply with GDPR. Comply with cyber security.
• Record work activity. For example, asset management records, work sheets, checklists, waste environmental records, and any business or legal reporting requirements.
• Communicate verbal and written. For example, with colleagues and stakeholders. Use engineering terminology where appropriate.
• Produce reports for example, equipment performance reports.
• Provide guidance or training to colleagues or stakeholders.
• Read and interpret task related information and data. For example, work instructions, SOPs, quality control documentation, Service Level Agreements, specifications, engineering representations, drawings, and graphical information, work instructions, and operation manuals.
• Plan work. Identify and organise resources to complete tasks.
• Identify hazards and control measures to mitigate risks.
• Comply with food safety regulations and procedures.
• Comply with health and safety regulations and procedures.
• Comply with environment and sustainability regulations and procedures: safe disposal of waste, re-cycling or re-use of materials and efficient use of resources.
• Select, check the condition, and safely use maintenance tools and equipment. Store tools and equipment. Complete or arrange maintenance of tools and equipment including calibration where required.
• Follow standard operating procedures and quality procedures.
• Follow site isolation and lock off procedures (lockout, tagout) and re-instatement of equipment with system checks and handover.
• Apply mechanical and fluid power system maintenance practices and techniques. For example, check levels, parts wear, pressure, and sensors, grease and lubricate parts, replace, fit components, and calibrate equipment.
• Apply electrical and control maintenance practices and techniques including use of electrical testing equipment and instruments. For example, panel risk assessment, fixed wire installation testing, fault finding, thermographic surveys, and checking protection settings.
• Apply reliability engineering techniques to prevent or reduce the likelihood or frequency of failures. For example, condition monitoring, oil sampling, thermography, vibration analysis, and ultrasound.
• Install and configure instrumentation or process control systems.
• Install and configure electrical systems. For example, add distribution boards to circuits, single and three phase motors (AC and DC).
• Assemble, position and fix equipment or components. Complete commissioning checks.
• Disconnect and remove equipment or components. Complete storage measures to prevent deterioration.
• Read and interpret equipment performance data.
• Fabricate, drill, and join to produce basic parts, spares or components to measurement and tolerance specification.
• Apply down-hand (flat) TIG welding techniques: butt and tee.
• Apply mathematical techniques to solve engineering problems.
• Produce and amend electrical and mechanical engineering representations, drawings, and graphical information. For example, for new component parts or change in circuit diagram or panel.
• Apply fault-finding and problem-solving techniques for example, using PLC data to diagnose issues and locate faults on industrial network.
• Apply continuous improvement techniques to understand current performance; collect and record data. Devise suggestions for improvement.
• Restore the work area on completion of activity.
• Resolve or escalate issues.
• Use information technology. For example, for document creation, communication, and information management. Comply with GDPR. Comply with cyber security.
• Record work activity. For example, asset management records, work sheets, checklists, waste environmental records, and any business or legal reporting requirements.
• Communicate verbal and written. For example, with colleagues and stakeholders. Use engineering terminology where appropriate.
• Produce reports for example, equipment performance reports.
• Provide guidance or training to colleagues or stakeholders.

Training schedule

• Engineering fundamentals: Navigate the complexities of an ever-changing engineering environment, where your decisions will significantly impact product design, process efficiency and safety standards.
• Innovative problem-solving: Leverage the skills you develop during the scheme to address real-time engineering challenges. Identify opportunities and implement creative solutions for sustainable engineering success.
• Agility and adaptability: Embrace the challenge of collaborating with a range of different teams and adapting to various engineering methodologies as you rotate through roles.
• Effective technical communication: Balance the needs of various cross-functional teams, enhancing your interpersonal skills and building your professional brand within the engineering landscape.
• Continuous industry insight: Gain firsthand experience of emerging trends and external factors that influence engineering practices, deepening your understanding of the ever-evolving engineering landscape.

Taking time out from the factory floor, you’ll get a taste of student life when you attend residential learning modules on block release at North West Training Council (NWTC) in Liverpool. Here you’ll meet other apprentices from around the country—it’s a great chance to strike up professional relationships and build a network that could open doors in the future.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

• English Language (grade 4 and above)
• Maths (grade 4 and above)

Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.

Skills

• Problem solving skills
• Initiative
• Passionate
• Ambitious

Other requirements

Step into our vibrant multi-sensory factory environment, where sight, sound and touch will come alive! Join our team and immerse yourself in our hands-on workplace, driving innovation and creativity every day. You will also be required to wear PPE for this role.

About this employer

Good food nourishes and delights the senses. It helps pets to thrive, children to grow healthily and parents to age gracefully. It helps all of us to live life to the fullest. Good food also respects our planet and protects resources for future generations. But times are changing fast. And we know that what’s good today won’t be good enough tomorrow. Consider the challenge of satisfying the needs of 10 billion people by 2050 in a responsible and sustainable way. This will demand innovation and change. At Nestlé, we’re constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with food, drink and nutritional health solutions. That way we can enhance quality of life and contribute to a healthier future for all. Today, our business has around 275,000 employees, more than 2,000 brands and a presence in 188 countries.

http://www.nestleacademy.co.uk (opens in new tab)

Company benefits

 

Inclusive culture, join our variety of employee run networks! Comprehensive benefits, Pastoral support, Employee Assistance Programme, Potential relocation support (£2,000), Prayer rooms

 

After this apprenticeship

We are looking to set you up for an exciting and varied career at Nestlé with extensive opportunities to continue your learning and development following completion of your apprenticeship. Our previous apprentices have gone from Technician roles to become Engineering Specialists, Maintenance Managers, Project Engineers and Engineering Managers, looking after teams of people and multi-million-pound budgets.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

NORTH WEST TRAINING COUNCIL

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000004416.

Apply now

Closes on Sunday 22 February 2026

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