For National Apprenticeship Week 2023, we sat down with one of our apprentices to learn more about how they are finding Bidfood’s Apprenticeship Pathway. An apprenticeship is a great way to focus on personal development while working, and provides you with plenty of skills to use within your role. We have developed a pathway of around 40 apprenticeships for internal teams to consider, covering a variety of different functions and at all levels. We are also undertaking initiatives to attract around 30 externally recruited apprentices to join our business in various roles this year.

Read on to discover how our Apprentice, Emma, is finding the experience…

 

How long have you been an apprentice at Bidfood?

I have been an apprentice with Bidfood for 6 Months.

 

What apprenticeship programme are you doing?

I am doing the Team Leader apprenticeship, level 3.

 

What made you want to join our apprenticeship pathway?

I have been an Admin/Customer Service Supervisor for a few years and there had never been any training opportunities available for me, so when this apprenticeship came up I thought this would be a good opportunity to learn the skills I need for my current role and beyond.

 

What does an average day look like?

There is not really an average day, you will have around two online training sessions a month which is either a workshop session on a specific theme or with your skills coach and we also have one to ones with our skills coach to make sure we are on track.

It’s good to note that if you haven’t got grade A to C GCSE’s in Maths and English you will have to re take them (I am having to re take maths GCSE). This didn’t put me off starting the apprenticeship though, as it’s funded as part of the programme and it’s another opportunity to help progress my career and gain additional qualifications.

You will have assignments set with a deadline to complete, but you are given a good amount of time to complete these and the skills coach is always on hand if you need to ask them any questions.

You can also shadow Managers, read books, and everyday tasks you complete in your role as a supervisor/Manager can count towards your apprenticeship.

 

What’s been your favourite part so far?

I really enjoy doing the online workshop sessions as they are done by different professionals and you always learn a lot, get to engage with other apprentices from varied work places and get lots of different opinions.

 

How have you used the content of the apprenticeship within your current role?

I have put quite a few things into practice that I have learnt in my apprenticeship including what I have learnt around delegation and difficult conversations.

 

Do you think you’ll take these skills with you to your next career step?

Yes, definitely. I have become more confident since doing the apprenticeship and learnt a lot of new skills which I feel will help me progress.

 

Would you recommend an apprenticeship at Bidfood to others?

Yes, I would recommend an apprenticeship to others as you learn so many new skills and come away with a qualification that will help you progress. It is sometimes difficult when you have a busy life style to fit in the work but it is totally worth it.

 

What’s your favourite food?

Brie 🙂

 

For more information on our Apprenticeship Pathway, visit the People pillar on our Sustainability webpage: Positive force for change | Sustainability | Bidfood UK

Want to read more about our apprenticeships? Check out: How is Bidfood supporting apprenticeships?