Food and Drink Engineering maintenance apprentice

Summary

The engineering apprentice will be supporting the team in the upkeep of machines and processes. 

Wage

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

National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices

• Salary will be discussed at interview

Training course

Food and drink maintenance engineer (level 3)

Hours

Monday - Friday. Hours to be discussed.

37 hours a week

Start date

Thursday 3 September 2026

Duration

3 years 6 months

Positions available

4

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

• Conduct maintenance of food and drink processing and packaging equipment (condition-based monitoring)
• Respond to breakdowns of food and drink processing and packaging equipment
• Conduct reactive maintenance or corrective actions to resolve deviation
• Identify faults (electrical, mechanical, instrumentation, automation and pneumatics) on food and drink processing equipment and action required
• Contribute to continuous improvement projects to optimise food equipment or process. For example, participate in failure investigations to ensure process effectiveness and to contribute to and implement practical engineering solutions for efficiency and profitability
• Contribute to the installation and commission food and drink processing and packaging equipment in line with food science and safety principles
• Contribute to technical performance reviews in collaboration with other functions and stakeholders
• Maintain engineering documentation for food and drink maintenance work
• Support maintenance and operational team members in developing engineering technical competence
• Ensure availability and performance of maintenance tools and equipment
• Contribute to food and drink internal and external audits

Where you'll work

Hortonwood 45
Telford
TF1 7FA

Training

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

Training provider

TELFORD COLLEGE

Training course

Food and drink maintenance engineer (level 3)

What you'll learn

Course contents

• Read and interpret task related information and data. For example, work instructions, SOPs, quality control documentation, Service Level Agreements, specifications, engineering representations, drawings, and graphical information, work instructions, and operation manuals.
• Plan work. Identify and organise resources to complete tasks.
• Identify hazards and control measures to mitigate risks.
• Comply with food safety regulations and procedures.
• Comply with health and safety regulations and procedures.
• Comply with environment and sustainability regulations and procedures: safe disposal of waste, re-cycling or re-use of materials and efficient use of resources.
• Select, check the condition, and safely use maintenance tools and equipment. Store tools and equipment. Complete or arrange maintenance of tools and equipment including calibration where required.
• Follow standard operating procedures and quality procedures.
• Follow site isolation and lock off procedures (lockout, tagout) and re-instatement of equipment with system checks and handover.
• Apply mechanical and fluid power system maintenance practices and techniques. For example, check levels, parts wear, pressure, and sensors, grease and lubricate parts, replace, fit components, and calibrate equipment.
• Apply electrical and control maintenance practices and techniques including use of electrical testing equipment and instruments. For example, panel risk assessment, fixed wire installation testing, fault finding, thermographic surveys, and checking protection settings.
• Apply reliability engineering techniques to prevent or reduce the likelihood or frequency of failures. For example, condition monitoring, oil sampling, thermography, vibration analysis, and ultrasound.
• Install and configure instrumentation or process control systems.
• Install and configure electrical systems. For example, add distribution boards to circuits, single and three phase motors (AC and DC).
• Assemble, position and fix equipment or components. Complete commissioning checks.
• Disconnect and remove equipment or components. Complete storage measures to prevent deterioration.
• Read and interpret equipment performance data.
• Fabricate, drill, and join to produce basic parts, spares or components to measurement and tolerance specification.
• Apply down-hand (flat) TIG welding techniques: butt and tee.
• Apply mathematical techniques to solve engineering problems.
• Produce and amend electrical and mechanical engineering representations, drawings, and graphical information. For example, for new component parts or change in circuit diagram or panel.
• Apply fault-finding and problem-solving techniques for example, using PLC data to diagnose issues and locate faults on industrial network.
• Apply continuous improvement techniques to understand current performance; collect and record data. Devise suggestions for improvement.
• Restore the work area on completion of activity.
• Resolve or escalate issues.
• Use information technology. For example, for document creation, communication, and information management. Comply with GDPR. Comply with cyber security.
• Record work activity. For example, asset management records, work sheets, checklists, waste environmental records, and any business or legal reporting requirements.
• Communicate verbal and written. For example, with colleagues and stakeholders. Use engineering terminology where appropriate.
• Produce reports for example, equipment performance reports.
• Provide guidance or training to colleagues or stakeholders.
• Read and interpret task related information and data. For example, work instructions, SOPs, quality control documentation, Service Level Agreements, specifications, engineering representations, drawings, and graphical information, work instructions, and operation manuals.
• Plan work. Identify and organise resources to complete tasks.
• Identify hazards and control measures to mitigate risks.
• Comply with food safety regulations and procedures.
• Comply with health and safety regulations and procedures.
• Comply with environment and sustainability regulations and procedures: safe disposal of waste, re-cycling or re-use of materials and efficient use of resources.
• Select, check the condition, and safely use maintenance tools and equipment. Store tools and equipment. Complete or arrange maintenance of tools and equipment including calibration where required.
• Follow standard operating procedures and quality procedures.
• Follow site isolation and lock off procedures (lockout, tagout) and re-instatement of equipment with system checks and handover.
• Apply mechanical and fluid power system maintenance practices and techniques. For example, check levels, parts wear, pressure, and sensors, grease and lubricate parts, replace, fit components, and calibrate equipment.
• Apply electrical and control maintenance practices and techniques including use of electrical testing equipment and instruments. For example, panel risk assessment, fixed wire installation testing, fault finding, thermographic surveys, and checking protection settings.
• Apply reliability engineering techniques to prevent or reduce the likelihood or frequency of failures. For example, condition monitoring, oil sampling, thermography, vibration analysis, and ultrasound.
• Install and configure instrumentation or process control systems.
• Install and configure electrical systems. For example, add distribution boards to circuits, single and three phase motors (AC and DC).
• Assemble, position and fix equipment or components. Complete commissioning checks.
• Disconnect and remove equipment or components. Complete storage measures to prevent deterioration.
• Read and interpret equipment performance data.
• Fabricate, drill, and join to produce basic parts, spares or components to measurement and tolerance specification.
• Apply down-hand (flat) TIG welding techniques: butt and tee.
• Apply mathematical techniques to solve engineering problems.
• Produce and amend electrical and mechanical engineering representations, drawings, and graphical information. For example, for new component parts or change in circuit diagram or panel.
• Apply fault-finding and problem-solving techniques for example, using PLC data to diagnose issues and locate faults on industrial network.
• Apply continuous improvement techniques to understand current performance; collect and record data. Devise suggestions for improvement.
• Restore the work area on completion of activity.
• Resolve or escalate issues.
• Use information technology. For example, for document creation, communication, and information management. Comply with GDPR. Comply with cyber security.
• Record work activity. For example, asset management records, work sheets, checklists, waste environmental records, and any business or legal reporting requirements.
• Communicate verbal and written. For example, with colleagues and stakeholders. Use engineering terminology where appropriate.
• Produce reports for example, equipment performance reports.
• Provide guidance or training to colleagues or stakeholders.

Training schedule

• Food and Drink Maintenance Engineer Level 3
• Day release at the college 
• Workplace assessor 
• College assessor 

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

• English (grade C/4)
• Maths (grade C/4)

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
• Problem solving skills
• Analytical skills
• Logical
• Team working