Mechanical Apprentice
Smurfit Westrock
Snodland (ME6 5AX)
Closes on Friday 27 March 2026
Posted on 20 January 2026
Contents
Summary
We are offering a 4-year apprenticeship for one Mechanical apprentice to join a 25-person strong multidisciplinary engineering team. The role will be to learn about and become trained and competent in the maintenance and engineering support of a four-year-old state-of-the-art packaging paper machine based in Snodland.
- Wage
-
£17,201.60 a year
- Training course
- Engineering technician (level 3)
- Hours
-
Monday to Friday 8AM to 4:30PM with 30 min lunch break. IPS hours the first year. Holidays to be agreed in advance with employer.
40 hours a week
- Start date
-
Saturday 1 August 2026
- Duration
-
3 years 6 months
- 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
Smurfit Westrock (formally Smurtfit Kappa) is the No.1 packaging manufacturer in the world with in excess of 40,000 employees worldwide. This is an opportunity to join a FTSE100 blue chip company with excellent progression prospects.
This apprenticeship will include maintenance on gear boxes, pumps, instrumentation, motors, control systems and heavy engineering plant equipment.
Other duties include:
- Average working week (following the year off the job training) - Working within the Mechanical department undertaking reactive and planned maintenance tasks, which primarily aim to keep the safe manufacturing of paper at the site.
- Planned Routine Tasks - Undertake planned maintenance tasks on a wide variety of Mechanical elements of the machine.
- Reactive Maintenance - Within a team, investigate faults and issues with the paper production process, create and plan solutions for the issues that have arisen and safely carry out any necessary repairs.
- Small Projects - Within the Mechanical maintenance team plan and implement small projects.
Where you'll work
The Paper Mill
Mill Street
Snodland
ME6 5AX
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
IPS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Training course
Engineering technician (level 3)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
Training schedule
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
- Team working
- Punctual
- Reliable
Other requirements
Enrolment onto your apprenticeship programme is subject to prior attainment checks, and your Personal Learning Record will be reviewed upon successful appointment. We are also obligated to follow the guidelines around eligibility, set out by the government apprenticeship funding rules.
NB: Please include minimum qualifications (GCSE Maths and English grades) in your apprenticeship application. Tailor your application to the vacancy, dedicating 1-2 paragraphs for each question to demonstrate interest in the role and the company.
**If you are unsuccessful, you will be automatically added to our Talentpool list where future vacancies will be sent to you. If you would like to opt out of this mailing list, please select unsubscribe in the email.**
About this employer
Smurfit Westrock, a global leader in sustainable paper and packaging, operates in 40 countries with over 500 packaging converting operations and 59 paper mills.
We offer an unparalleled portfolio of innovative packaging solutions ranging from corrugated and consumer packaging to Bag-in-Box® packaging and point-of-sale displays.
With the circular economy at the core of our business, we use renewable, recyclable and recycled materials to create sustainable packaging solutions.
As a trusted partner to companies across the world, Smurfit Westrock is dedicated to creating efficient and scalable paper and packaging solutions to help solve complex packaging challenges.
We are committed to delivering meaningful value for shareholders, customers, employees and the communities where we operate.
Our global headquarters is in Dublin, Ireland, and we have a primary listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
After this apprenticeship
Upon successful completion of the apprenticeship, we would expect the apprentice to embark on a HNC course which will be funded by the Organisation. At the end of the apprenticeship, we would offer a 2-year ‘Junior Technician’ role before being offered a full Maintenance Technician role.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
IPS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000009466.
Apply now
Closes on Friday 27 March 2026