Whether you have years of work experience or you just graduated, there's a job opportunity for you at Nestlé. Search for jobs here.
Jon Waites

Jon is four months into his 30-month manufacturing apprenticeship in Nestlé's York factory. He discovered the apprenticeship after attending an Apprenticeship Fair at York Racecourse last year. For him, Nestlé really stood out for the breadth of opportunities it offered alongside competitive pay. Despite worrying that he was a more mature applicant at 40, he was encouraged to apply and was successful.
Learning hands on
I've always been someone that excels in a hands-on role, which is why I was so keen to undertake an apprenticeship. After learning more about Nestlé and the roles it offers, I knew it would suit my skillset.
I had previously been working in hospitality and while I liked that the role was vocational, I wanted to put myself in an environment where I could learn and push myself further. I was confident that having had several years' experience in the workplace already would put me in a good position to progress.
I've enjoyed every opportunity I've been given to learn about all the different elements of the manufacturing process.
Nestlé has given me countless opportunities to learn, and I'm only four months into the job. I'm developing an understanding of how our manufacturing processes work end to end, including sourcing ingredients and the detail of each individual part of a machine mechanism, as well as health and safety measures.
My day-to-day
In my current rotation, I'm overseeing all milk and dark chocolate manufacturing from start to finish. Alongside my team, we kick-off the orders that come through – which can mean we're using in the region of 50 tonnes of ingredients – and ensure the manufacturing processes are running smoothly and efficiently.
Digital skills
One great aspect of an apprenticeship is that you are given opportunities to upskill in a range of areas. Right now, I'm improving my IT skills so I can be more aware of digital processes within the factory.
This means I've been given more independence during my daily role and I am starting to sign off tasks. I'm also becoming a point person for those more junior than me who might have any questions about the complexity of how the system operates.


What the future holds
My main goal is to work towards completing my apprenticeship with a merit or distinction grade, which will give me the opportunity to then look at progressing into a management role within manufacturing.
Taking up this apprenticeship has enabled me to completely change my career direction and given me more opportunities for the future – I'd recommend it to anyone thinking of applying, whatever their age.