< Back to search

HEINEKEN UK Supply Chain

Apprentice Technical Operator

< Back to search

Job Description

Level 3 – Food and Drink Technical Operator Apprenticeship - Herefordshire

Whether you’ve just finished your GCSEs (or equivalent) or are ready for an exciting career change, this is your chance to gain valuable skills, earn recognised qualifications, and kickstart your future—all while earning.

From day one, you’ll receive exceptional career support and guidance, helping you grow in a friendly and supportive environment where you can be your authentic self and achieve your best. Let’s brew an incredible future together!

Salary and benefits: £19,000 first-year salary & award-winning double-matched pension plus a fantastic benefits package including all accommodation costs paid for and a food allowance when you're studying.

Application Closing Date: 16th February 2025.

About the role:

Our Level 3 Food and Drink Technical Operator Apprenticeship programme is based at our Herefordshire Brewery, within our Milling team at our Ledbury Site, helping to produce our well-loved brands.

In this role, you’ll develop expertise in operating, identifying, and diagnosing faults, and carrying out basic maintenance of our equipment, while also covering key areas such as continuous improvement, food safety, and quality assurance. From managing production processes to fine-tuning the operation of advanced machinery, you’ll build the skills and confidence needed to ensure smooth and efficient operations.

This apprenticeship offers the ultimate blend of hands-on learning and real-world experience, giving you the perfect launchpad for an exciting and rewarding career in the brewing industry.

What you can expect:

Technical Operators are essential to our supply chain, playing a vital role in controlling our manufacturing processes through equipment or process operation, frontline fault diagnosis and resolution, asset care, and basic maintenance tasks. A key priority is upholding food safety standards by monitoring Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) and accurately recording results.

You’ll work as part of a wider team to manufacture safe and compliant products, meeting deadlines, productivity, efficiency, hygiene and environmental requirements whilst making sure health and safety remains everyone’s top priority.

What your day-to-day may look like:

Throughout the duration of your apprenticeship, you’ll be learning from technical experts of our manufacturing processes and our current Technical Operators who have decades of experience within our breweries.

As part of the apprenticeship, you’ll attend blocks of off-site learning and training with our best-in-class training provider, Lincoln University. You’ll spend up to 3 weeks per academic year at their state of the art campus, gaining underpinning knowledge of our processes which you’ll then apply back on site.

Be prepared for a dynamic work environment, which will include 12-hour shifts, alternating between days and nights.

What you need to apply:

Education: All applicants must have 5 GSCEs all at Level 4 or equivalent – including Maths at Level 6 and English at Level 4.

Right to Work: All applicants must have a valid right to work in the UK for the duration of their apprenticeship

Other Criteria: All applicants must be 18 years of age or older on or before the 1st May 2025.

To qualify for an apprenticeship, you must have been a resident of the UK for a minimum of three years as of 1st September 2025.

How to apply:

We’ve made our application process simple.

All you need to do is apply with a CV and a cover letter telling us why you want to join our HEINEKEN Apprenticeship programme.

Please note that we won't accept any applications without a cover letter as this is where you can sell yourself and your interests to us!

A cover letter is your time to shine and tell us why you’re a great fit for the role and the company. We’ve put together a few tips to get you started:

  • Why would you be great for the role?
  • Why you want to join HEINEKEN as an apprentice.
  • Anything that sets you apart from other applicants.
  • No longer than 3 – 5 paragraphs
  • Try not to duplicate your CV

Company benefits

Some benefits may be based on employee contributions or may change depending on the role. Some of our benefits are also treated as a 'benefit-in-kind' for tax purposes – we're more than happy to share full details when you apply.

Enhanced pension match/contribution – we'll double match your contributions up to 10% of salary
Health insurance – we pay your annual premium (this is a taxable benefit that's not available to colleagues on negotiated terms) and you can also choose to cover your partner and/or your children at preferential rates
Life assurance – subject to policy terms
Company freebies – choose from our great selection of beers and ciders each month for free!
Annual bonus – depending on your role, you'll be aligned to a bonus or incentive scheme
Adoption leave
Carer’s leave
Charity donation scheme – make your donations go further through the UK's biggest payroll giving scheme
Critical Illness Insurance – comprehensive cover for you and your family which pays a tax-free lump sum if any of you fall ill, and your illness is covered
Cycle to work scheme
Dental coverage – Bupa Dental Insurance
Employee discounts
Enhanced maternity leave
Financial coaching – independent and confidential access to coaching
Gym membership – get fit at over 3,600 private and public clubs across the UK
Health assessment – get peace of mind with a health assessment
Technology Loan – choose the latest tech up to the value of £1,800 and spread the cost over 12 months
Travel insurance
Shared parental leave
Pregnancy loss leave
Family health insurance
LinkedIn learning license
Personal development days
In house training
Electric vehicle charging unit loan – spread the cost of installing a charging unit at your home
Restaurant discounts – make your money go further with discounts at over 10,000 restaurants
Coffee discounts – get discounts at thousands of coffee shops across the UK
Will writing – protect your loved ones' inheritance with a will

We need to ask employees of HEINEKEN UK Supply Chain what it's like to work there before we assign the company FlexScore®.

Location flexibility
?
More information needed
Hours flexibility
?
More information needed
Benefits
?
More information needed
Work-life balance
?
More information needed
Role modelling
?
More information needed
Autonomy
?
More information needed

Working at HEINEKEN UK Supply Chain

Company employees

2100

Currently Hiring Countries

United Kingdom

Office Locations

We also offer some field-based or remote roles across the UK. We’ll always provide location information in our job descriptions, but feel free to speak to your hiring manager for more information.