Give a description of a day in the life of a Maintenance engineer apprentice.

My day starts off with a morning meeting where all engineers come together to discuss any ongoing breakdowns which require parts and discuss projects being carried out. My day will then consist of working on any breakdowns which occur on the machinery throughout the day, if we are not on breakdowns I will be working on planned maintenance jobs to minimise future machinery breakdowns.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of pursuing this career?

If someone is looking at a career as an engineer within the food industry the advice I would give is go for it, you are likely to enjoy the work and learning you will be doing whilst earning a wage. You will also pick up some great skills on the way. Make sure to take all the learning opportunities you can as they will develop you as an engineer more and more.

What’s the best thing about your job?

The best thing within my job is the variety of work day to day. So I find that every day is a chance to learn about new problems and different tasks and eventually be able to carry out a massive variety of different maintenance tasks independently.

What was your starting salary?  

My starting salary in my apprenticeship was just around £14000 and I started this apprenticeship early when I was 16 just turning 17 it seemed like a good amount of money to be earning whilst learning in a hands-on job role which I enjoyed.  You can make progress within your salary throughout the years of your apprenticeship.

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

In 5 years’ time I hope to be a fully qualified maintenance engineer in a full time role at Karro. I will still look for opportunities to progress improve and develop further into a higher position.