Quality Assurance Technical Degree Apprentice

Are you passionate about teamwork? Excited about building a long-term career in the food industry? And highly motivated to advance your career? If this sounds like you, our Quality Assurance Technical Degree Apprenticeship could be the perfect opportunity!

After the combination with Bakkavor in January 2026, we’re one of the UK’s leading creators of convenience food, driven by a simple purpose: to make every day taste better. As a vibrant and fast-moving business, we’re proud to employ over 28,000 talented colleagues across 36 manufacturing sites and 21 distribution depots in the UK and the US. Together, we bring delicious food to life.

Our products cover every meal occasion from breakfast through to dinner and dessert, with lunch and snacking in between. In FY25, our shared passion helped us achieve combined revenues of approximately £4bn. Our extensive direct-to-store network, with 17 depots across the UK, delivers fresh and frozen food both our own and from trusted partners to thousands of stores every day, ensuring consumers enjoy the very best, whenever and wherever they shop.

Here at Spalding
, we have a team of around 540 colleagues. We produce coleslaw, potato salad, salad bar bulk products (2kg), pasta salads and couscous/grains for some of the biggest retailers in the UK including Morrisons, Co‑op, Asda, Aldi, Sainsbury’s, Nando’s and Pizza Hut. Our Spalding site has a restaurant with hot food available to all our colleagues.

Our Technical Degree Apprenticeship is a 4‑year programme designed to help you reach your potential and build a rewarding career in the food industry. Delivered in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, you will work towards a Level 6 Food Industry Technical Professional Degree apprenticeship and finish the programme with a BSc (Hons) in Food Science & Technology.

This programme combines on‑the‑job experience with academic learning, aligning your studies to real work projects. You’ll gain exposure, experience, and education to develop the knowledge, skills, and behaviours needed to become an integral part of our site Technical team and kickstart your career in food. Upon completion, you will transition into a Technical Management role that supports your future career goals.

You will learn about food chemistry, sustainable food production, raw materials, microbiology of food and how to apply this knowledge to your day job.

• Obtaining certification information for raw materials such as Certificates of Analysis.
• Quality management system work:
  Obtaining photos of relevant locations.
• Walking through draft procedures in conjunction with relevant disciplines to understand if they were clear and accurate.
• Other routine Quality Assurance tasks:
  Collection of samples – raw materials & finished products.
• Taking swabs – hand, hygiene, and listeria.
• Investigating customer complaints.

We’re looking for our next generation of passionate Food Technical Apprentices to develop and grow a career with us. Based at our Spalding site, you will provide technical support while developing your skills in key aspects of the Technical function.

• Passionate about working as part of a team, and have an ambition to have a long‑term career in the food industry.
• Highly motivated to grow your career, studying for a degree alongside doing a demanding day job.
• Resilient and equipped to take change in your stride.
• Curious, organised and able to use your excellent communication skills to build effective relationships with a range of stakeholders.

Our operation runs 24/7, so you’ll need to be flexible with shifts, which may include early starts from 5am, rotating night shifts, and weekends. As part of the apprenticeship, you’ll also be required to travel to Nottingham Trent University’s Brackenhurst Campus for study blocks and development events, and may visit other Greencore sites. For this reason, holding a full driving licence would be advantageous.

• GCSE English language and maths at grade C/4 or above.
• 3 A levels BBC (112 UCAS points) or equivalent qualifications…