Telford College is glad to announce a growing partnership with Kraft Heinz, working together to help create the future engineering workforce of tomorrow.
Formed by the merger of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz Company in 2015, the company has factories in 27 companies and manufactures brands synonymous across the world with quality.
The factory in Telford is one of three factories in the UK. Home to over 200 employees, the site predominantly packages a majority of the brand’s well-known sauces, including their famous ketchup, mayonnaise and brown sauce.
Lola Jones is one of the apprentices currently in the ranks at Kraft Heinz, after starting the first year of her engineering technician level 3 apprenticeship, on the Mechatronics pathway, in August.
“My dad is an engineer, I’ve watched him grow in the profession and become a manager, he’s really inspired me to follow his footsteps. I love the problem-solving element of engineering, figuring out how things work.
“I found the role after applying through the apprenticeship team, I was interested in a couple of jobs, but after my interview and tour of Kraft Heinz, I loved it and knew it was the job for me.
“I assist other engineers on breakdowns, working on planned maintenances, replacing parts and maintaining systems so they work properly.
“I really enjoy working there, everyone I work with is lovely and they’ve made me feel very welcome. I couldn’t ask for a better job, not to mention the free sauce!
“Once my apprenticeship is finished, I’d love to work my way up the ladder into a management position here, it’s a great place to work and I feel supported.”
Telford College has recently introduced a level four lead engineering maintenance technician pathway, promoting supervisory roles for apprentices looking to progress higher – find out more here.
Dan Gibbons, Learning and Development partner at Kraft Heinz, said: “We were previously using a different provider outside of the county for our apprenticeships, however I wanted to get into the local community, putting in the steps in place to hire and train local talent.
“I originally worked with the training department in Muller at a previous job – what they were doing was huge, I wanted to do that with Heinz and now we have apprentices going to college proudly wearing our shirts, representing our company.
“We were originally contacted by the college; we discussed what we were looking for and what the college could do for us. We made use of the excellent talent pool of apprentice candidates the college has and, after interviewing a strong group, we hired Lola. I wish we could have taken them all!
“We’ve got a great support network in for Lola, we’ve given her a great mentor who’s another female with a lot of experience in the engineering industry, plus we have regular one-to-one meetings to make sure she’s progressing well.”
“We found the process of hiring a Telford College apprentice so easy, we were given CVs of so many good candidates. We’re hoping to get more apprentices in next year and grow a really good training partnership with the college.”
Chris Field, Business Development manager at Telford College, said: “To work with Kraft Heinz, a global brand, is fantastic. They have a clear passion to embrace apprenticeships, and we’re delighted to work with them in partnership to develop their staff and offer opportunities.
“Partnerships with local employers are incredibly important. As a local College, we need to be working with companies like Kraft Heinz and listening to their expertise and experience to enhance students learning.
“We look forward to developing a wide range and comprehensive offer of training for Kraft Heinz – that may be looking at further apprenticeships but also short courses, upskilling staff and work experience. The key for us is to listen to Kraft Heinz’s needs, then see how these align with other organisations and be able to create high quality, impactful training.”
Are you interested in an apprenticeship in engineering? Contact our team today at apprentices@telfordcollege.ac.uk
