By providing apprenticeships, companies are developing skills in the labour market. With those newfound skills, important to the apprentice is whether the firm then goes on to offer opportunities. Natural food ingredient producers EDME are committed to bringing aboard young people with the right attitude, helping them to realise their potential and offering them career opportunities.
Jordan Peck was given an apprentice role in the EDME laboratory, working four days a week, with a fifth reserved for studying at a local college. His studies concluded, he has now been appointed as a full time, fully qualified lab technician.
“Apprentices have a lot to learn when they first start,” says laboratory manager Gavin Mulligan. “On top of all the technical skills and quality control processes, there’s the more general - but still crucial - stuff about how organisations work, who the customers are and how we meet their expectations.
“Jordan has shown a real commitment and ability to learn, and during his apprenticeship proved that he could become a valuable member of the team. We’re very happy to have seen him progress. His promotion is testament to his hard work. It also shows that apprenticeship programmes can work really well when you have the right candidates and the right training in place.”
Jordan is part of the team that ensures every last ounce of wholegrain or gluten-free flour, and every last malted flake leaving the gates meets the highest of food standards. On top of this, in his expanded capacity, he will be investigating and testing new and existing EDME products - and working on innovating processes and formulations.
Says Jordan, “You’re on a steep learning curve when you’re an apprentice – and although I’m never going to stop learning, I feel like I’ve earned my keep.
“It’s fun being trusted enough to be given an element of control when you’re still young. I’ve now got quite a lot of responsibility and will definitely be taking that very seriously. But that shouldn’t stop me from enjoying it!”
EDME creates nutritious flours and flakes for the bakery and wider food industries, and is the first in the UK to supply gluten-free flours at less than 5 parts per million. As the company’s managing director Metin Fevzi points out, this means rigorous quality controls and meticulous attention to detail. “We ask a lot of our team members at every level – and want to see them broadening their skills and developing their capabilities. Jordan has done just that. Congratulations to him on his new appointment.”