We are looking for motivated undergraduates who have a keen desire to gain experience within Food Technology, sitting within our technical department at Bakkavor. This is a 12-month placement aimed at those who elect to complete a year-in-industry as part of their degree. There are opportunities to return to Bakkavor once you have completed your undergraduate degree.
What we do?
We're probably the biggest name you've never heard of. You've almost certainly eaten our food - you just didn't realise it! As global leaders in the fresh prepared food industry with over 16,000 employees, we create innovative products, including meals, soups, dips, salads, desserts, pizzas and bread for customers including Tesco, M&S, Sainsbury's and Waitrose in the UK.
About this role
If you share our passion for great food, this placement offers you opportunities, development, and guidance to help you learn and grow. You will gain skills in areas such as food safety, microbiology, internal auditing, raw materials, technical systems and factory hygiene. This entry level placement is ideal for those studying a foodrelated or food science degree, aiming to enter this field upon graduation.
You will be based at one of our sites in Cheshire, Lincolnshire or London, engaging in a broad range of activities and projects. The placement structure includes working within different functions within the technical department, these may include:
- Technical Factory QA Team: Collaborate with our manufacturing operations to ensure high quality and food safety as part of the Quality Assurance team. You'll engage in technical tasks such as GMP audits, taste panels, and microsampling while working within the factory environment.
- Technical Systems team: Working with our technical systems team to help to develop robust technical systems that comply with food safety, legal and customer requirements. This could include tasks around HACCP, code of practice reviews, quality management systems and KPI’s.
- Raw Materials and Specification team: Working in the raw material or specifications team to monitor and evaluate raw material safety through risk assessments and generate product specifications, including artwork and legal compliance checks.
- Process Technologist team: Working within our process teams to ensure the smooth transition of products from concept to launch. You will engage in factory trials, organoleptic sampling, shelf-life reviews, verifying data and product quality attribute generation.
About you
The most important qualities we seek are a motivated attitude to develop your skills and a strong motivation to progress within the food industry. To be considered for this placement, you must meet the following criteria:
- Undergraduate currently studying a food science-based (food related) degree (must be mid degree, not mid masters)
- Experience working as part of a team
- Existing right to work in the UK (we are unable to sponsor visas for this placement)
- A clear motivation to learn more about the food industry
- A desire to learn how food manufacturing works and to get into detail of:
- What makes food safe
- How factories consistently produce great quality food time after time
- An ability to demonstrate good attention to detail
- A full UK driver’s licence and own transport is preferred and is mandatory for any Lincolnshire placements, as our locations and suppliers are not always readily accessible by public transport
- A curiosity to explore, learn, and show initiative All placements are subject to successful right to work checks, and eligibility to work in the UK.
During the Food Tech Placement you will receive career experience, skills & responsibility:
- You will work with an experienced line manager who will conduct regular performance reviews and guide you through a skills checklist to ensure your development.
- Assuming everything progresses as planned, Bakkavor will assist you in identifying the right career opportunities upon completing your degree. This could include direct entry roles or positions within our Graduate or Apprentice programmes.
- From day one, you will take accountability for your work area and personal development, with comprehensive on-the-job training provided.
Proud to be Bakkavor
At Bakkavor, we have pride. And purpose. From our Icelandic origins we have grown to be the leading provider of fresh prepared food in the UK. And we continue to expand, in the US and China. Our world is fast-paced, exciting and energetic. And that’s just how we like it. We have drive. Ambition. Motivation. We are food heroes, who keep the supply chain moving despite challenging times. We work hard. We are resilient. We solve problems together. And we deliver for our customers. Our passion brings joy through the food we produce – and the communities we work in. Our values are extremely important to us, they drive the way we do business – they are what make Bakkavor different to everyone else
