Apprentice Process Operator
VICTREX MANUFACTURING LIMITED
Lancashire (FY5 4QD)
Closes in 26 days (Friday 6 March 2026)
Posted on 5 February 2026
Contents
Summary
We are looking for Apprentice Process Operators to join our Manufacturing Team. With big ambitions for the future, there has never been a better time to join Victrex! You'll receive first-class on-the-job training from a dedicated team, whilst earning a competitive salary, not to mention an industry-recognised qualification too.
- Wage
-
£15,113 a year
Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)
Whilst you may be in training, you can be sure that you will be rewarded as your confidence and skills grow in role. This means your salary will increase on your journey to becoming a skilled & competent tradesperson.
- Training course
- Process industry manufacturing technician (level 3)
- Hours
-
Monday - Friday.
36 hours 18 minutes a week
- Start date
-
Tuesday 1 September 2026
- Duration
-
3 years
- Positions available
-
3
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
As a Process Operator Apprentice, you will attend a day release programme with our training provider Blackpool & the Fylde College gaining a qualification as a Process industry manufacturing technician. You will learn basic manufacturing and craft skills, giving you a great foundation to progress. Technicians run and maintain processes, ensuring quality and resolving issues as needed. They follow safety and environmental procedures, keep records, and prepare equipment for maintenance. They also support risk assessments, improvements, and audits.
On-site, you will be based within our Operations Yeams, where you will undertake more formal in-house training for the duration, with a manufacturing focussed programme.
Here are a few examples of what our Process Operators do:
- Operate the manufacturing process to the required quality and safety standards and relevant operating procedures.
- Work closely with the process team and interact with other departments like laboratory, maintenance, engineering, supply chain, and warehouse. You may also engage with external contacts, including customers, service providers, and regulators.
- Ensure products meet quality standards and production schedules while adhering to external manufacturing regulations for safety, sustainability, and compliance. You may need to wear specialist PPE, such as safety glasses, chemical-resistant gloves, suits, footwear, or breathing apparatus.
- Working alone or in a team, you will be responsible for the quality and accuracy of your work with minimal supervision.
- Maintain required standards of plant housekeeping to ensure safe and efficient working practices.
- Identify continuous improvement opportunities to support wider continuous improvement activities.
Where you'll work
Victrex Technology Centre
Hillhouse International
Thornton Cleveleys
Lancashire
FY5 4QD
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
BLACKPOOL AND THE FYLDE 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
- This apprenticeship will give you an industry-recognised qualification through Blackpool and Fylde College, with many of our apprentices going on to additional study.
- The duration of this Apprenticeship Programme is 36 months, and if successful, you will join our 2026 Apprenticeship Intake in September.
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
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Problem solving skills
- Analytical skills
- Logical
- Team working
- Initiative
About this employer
Victrex is an innovative world leader in high performance materials, serving a diverse range of markets. Every day, millions of people rely on products or applications which contain our polymers, from smartphones, aeroplanes and cars to oil & gas platforms and medical devices.
https://careers.victrex.com/pages/apprenticeship (opens in new tab)
Company benefits
- Bonus scheme
- Pension Scheme where 5% employee contributions will attract contributions of 12% by Victrex
- Private medical insurance
- 29 days annual leave
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
Process Operator.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
BLACKPOOL AND THE FYLDE COLLEGE
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000012968.
Apply now
Closes in 26 days (Friday 6 March 2026)
After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.