Apprentice Buyer

MORS SMITT UK LTD

BARTON UNDER NEEDWOOD (DE13 8EN)

Closes in 22 days (Friday 10 July 2026 at 11:59pm)

Posted on 18 June 2026

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Summary

We are looking for a motivated and organised Apprentice Buyer to join our team and support the Lead Buyer in delivering an efficient procurement function.

This is an exciting opportunity to gain hands-on experience in purchasing, supplier management, and materials planning within a manufacturing environment.

• Wage:

  £15,392 for your first year, then could increase depending on your age

  National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices

  Minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

• Training course: Procurement and supply assistant (level 3)
• Hours: Monday to Thursday, 7:30am - 4:00pm or 8:00am - 4:30pm. Friday, 7:30am to 12:30pm or 8:00am to 1:00pm.

  37 hours a week

• Start date:

  Monday 3 August 2026

• Duration:

  1 year 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

You will be involved in purchasing goods and services, maintaining stock levels, managing supplier relationships, and ensuring smooth day-to-day operations in line with company processes and ISO9001 quality standards.

As part of your role, you will:

Procurement & Purchasing

• Process purchase orders and call-off orders
• Respond to material requirements planning (MRP) signals and internal requisitions
• Issue requests for quotations (RFQs) and liaise with suppliers

Stock & Systems Management

• Maintain accurate records on the Sage 200 system (stock, suppliers, and purchase orders)
• Carry out regular system updates and audits

Material Planning

• Monitor stock levels and identify potential shortages
• Support scheduling and ordering of materials in line with demand
• Help optimise stock levels to prevent over or under-stocking

Supplier Coordination

• Build and maintain strong relationships with suppliers
• Support cost-saving and product improvement initiatives
• Assist with expediting orders and resolving invoice queries, returns, and rejects

Team & Operational Support

• Attend production, quality, and safety meetings
• Communicate daily with operations teams and supervisors
• Provide support and cover for the Lead Buyer when required

Where you'll work

UNIT 6A
GRAYCAR BUSINESS PARK
BARTON TURN
BARTON UNDER NEEDWOOD
DE13 8EN

Training

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

Training provider

OXFORD PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION GROUP LIMITED

Training course

Procurement and supply assistant (level 3)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents

• Monitor and order products, stock, equipment and services at appropriate times using the appropriate procurement method.
• Communicate to procurement's internal stakeholders, suppliers and other stakeholders in order to develop effective relationships and networks
• Create, maintain and amend purchase order and contract records.
• Interpret, evaluate and compare procurement information such as historical spend and usage using databases and spreadsheets.
• Present findings and data in all formats e.g. mathematically, written and oral.
• Determine value for money (VFM) and added value through the use of Total Cost of Ownership during the evaluation process, and apply the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) criteria to the evaluation of quotes and tenders to support the recommendation at award. This may include the inclusion of green, low carbon, sustainability, and ethical criteria.
• Utilise relevant Procurement computer systems or internal databases.
• Select the supplier of the most appropriate products and services for purchases within their remit and place purchase order.
• Undertake appraisal of adhoc and low spend suppliers including setting them up on the purchasing system.
• Effectively research and analyse demand, spend, trends, potential suppliers and industries utilising qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Develop specifications of requirements and requests for quotes/tenders in line with organisational requirements.
• Apply considerations of responsible procurement in evaluating potential suppliers, quotes and tenders.
• Investigate and resolve purchase order, delivery and invoice queries.
• Own low risk value projects such as supply contracts for stationery, personal protective equipment (PPE) or other consumables, and contribute to higher risk activities such as contracts for building services or machinery, and track, log, expedite and review outstanding orders and stock availability where applicable.
• Maintain knowledge on all open orders and their status' and provide assistance to all purchasing staff e.g. expediting and feeding information back to the relevant stakeholders.
• Able to consider the impact of the decision making process when interacting with the supply chain.
• Able to support the contract negotiations and mini competitions with suppliers.
• Monitor and order products, stock, equipment and services at appropriate times using the appropriate procurement method.
• Communicate to procurement's internal stakeholders, suppliers and other stakeholders in order to develop effective relationships and networks
• Create, maintain and amend purchase order and contract records.
• Interpret, evaluate and compare procurement information such as historical spend and usage using databases and spreadsheets.
• Present findings and data in all formats e.g. mathematically, written and oral.
• Determine value for money (VFM) and added value through the use of Total Cost of Ownership during the evaluation process, and apply the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) criteria to the evaluation of quotes and tenders to support the recommendation at award. This may include the inclusion of green, low carbon, sustainability, and ethical criteria.
• Utilise relevant Procurement computer systems or internal databases.
• Select the supplier of the most appropriate products and services for purchases within their remit and place purchase order.
• Undertake appraisal of adhoc and low spend suppliers including setting them up on the purchasing system.
• Effectively research and analyse demand, spend, trends, potential suppliers and industries utilising qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Develop specifications of requirements and requests for quotes/tenders in line with organisational requirements.
• Apply considerations of responsible procurement in evaluating potential suppliers, quotes and tenders.
• Investigate and resolve purchase order, delivery and invoice queries.
• Own low risk value projects such as supply contracts for stationery, personal protective equipment (PPE) or other consumables, and contribute to higher risk activities such as contracts for building services or machinery, and track, log, expedite and review outstanding orders and stock availability where applicable.
• Maintain knowledge on all open orders and their status' and provide assistance to all purchasing staff e.g. expediting and feeding information back to the relevant stakeholders.
• Able to consider the impact of the decision making process when interacting with the supply chain.
• Able to support the contract negotiations and mini competitions with suppliers.

Training schedule

You will work towards a Level 3 Procurement & Supply Assistant Apprenticeship which will include:

• Off-the-job training with a training provider
• On-the-job learning within the procurement team
• Development of key technical and professional skills

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

• English (grade Grade C/4 or above)
• Maths (grade Grade C/4 or above)

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
• Customer care skills
• Team working

About this employer

Mors Smitt, an operating company under Wabtec, is a global manufacturer of vital railway relays, safety-critical electronics, and complete measuring and control solutions for the rolling stock and infrastructure industries.

Company benefits

• Life Assurance 4 x Salary
• Pension Contributions
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays

After this apprenticeship

Your earnings can increase over time with an apprenticeship. Find out about potential future pay (opens in new tab).

An apprenticeship in buying/procurement can open up a wide range of career paths across supply chain, commercial, and operational roles.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

OXFORD PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION GROUP LIMITED

MSUHR@wabtec.com

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000037904.

Apply now

Closes in 22 days (Friday 10 July 2026 at 11:59pm)