Pepe Anthony, Process Technician, prev Process Apprentice
Why did you decide to do an apprenticeship?
It was the right route for me, I’m more of a hands-on learner and at British Sugar that is definitely what you get.
Tell us about your journey as an apprentice at British Sugar
I started in my first area learning how the plant runs day to day and slowly took on more responsibilities as I gained the right knowledge up until I was able to run the factory on my own without any input from colleagues. It was a good way to slowly build you into the role of being a full-blown technician.
You did your apprenticeship through Cogent Skills. How did Cogent Skills and British Sugar support you through your apprenticeship?
Cogent was always on hand to help with any theory-based queries for your City and Guilds units and for British Sugar the answer to your questions is only ever a conversation away.
What do you feel were the advantages of doing an apprenticeship over other education/ training programmes?
You gain work experience whilst you are learning so when you qualify you are ready to drop straight into a technician role.
How have you found balancing your lifestyle and social life while doing your apprenticeship?
Working shifts has meant you adjust your life slightly, but this has only positively impacted my social life.
Have you met any friends through your apprenticeship?
I have made lots of friends throughout the company and all the apprentices that were on my intake year are all lifelong friends.
How did the apprenticeship help you kick-start/ progress your career?
I am now a full-blown Process technician at British Sugar, so my apprenticeship has got me to an amazing start in my career and straight into a job in the industry.
What has been your best achievement so far?
Passing my final assessment and being signed off as a technician for British Sugar.
What would you say are the most common misconceptions about an apprenticeship in process operations?
That you are working on a production line packaging product, this is far from the truth; you are an essential part to the manufacture of the products.
