Engineering apprentice Review
at Arla Foods
Level 3 Apprenticeship
Engineering
Leeds
Review Submitted: April 2026
Overall Rating
5 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
5/5
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Overview of Role
5/5
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Skills Development
5/5
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Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
5/5
My role is a food and drinks manufacturing engineer apprenticeship. This role involves annual blocks of around 15 weeks at Kirklees College, with the remainder of my time dedicated to on-site experience with fully qualified engineers.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
5/5
I could not rate my apprenticeship and the support I have received higher! I feel privileged to be in the position I am. The food and drink manufacturing engineering apprenticeship is a well structured, well thought out course and the on site mentoring that I currently receive along with the support is execeptional. Thank you Arla!
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
5/5
I'm constantly learning, the site I'm currently at (Stourton, Leeds) is huge and has several departments, all very different from each other. The knowledge and skills I'm learning are fundamental to the role that I will become qualified to do. Cliched term, but everyday is a school day.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
5/5
Very well structured, I couldn't be happier with the way its set out. My on-site mentor has created a program that enables me to spend two months in each department on a rotation, allowing me to be fully emerged in one area at a time whilst still gaining experience in the entirety of the site.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
5/5
My employer has assigned both a "work buddy" who I can ask questions to on a daily basis and also a mentor that sets me tasks, write ups and support whenever I need it. Arla as a whole is very supportive and see's how important my learning is, making sure that is priority at all times.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
5/5
Kirklees college is well set up with great tutors. The subjects are well spaced and always has a real knowledgeable tutor at the forefront.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
5/5
It's a qualification that is important to gain all the knowledge of each subject matter to be able to perform at my job. College is great at teaching the fundamentals whilst on-site experience is awesome at actually understanding the concepts and the way things work in real time.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
5/5
Site actively encourages extra curricular activites. At present we have a weekly football pitch booked out for 5-a-side. I'm currently working towards setting up a fitness challenge for collegues, including ideas such as the three peaks (hiking) and local 10k races (running).
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Arla Foods to a friend?
Yes
Why?
As mentioned previously, I feel I'm in a privileged position here and am enjoying my time. I'm not sure many people can say that.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Arla Foods?
Any prior engineering experience you could gain would be a big plus and would set you up nicely to succeed here. A general knowledge on how the dairy industry works, how the process of dairy functions and the type of products Arla produces would be a good first step.
