You may be able to start by doing a food and drink process operator intermediate apprenticeship.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, for an intermediate apprenticeship
Food packaging operative
Food packaging operatives work on production lines to put food and drink products into containers, cans or packets.
Average salary (a year)
£12,500 Starter
to£20,000 Experienced
Typical hours (a week)
41 to 43 a week
You could work
evenings / weekends / bank holidays on shifts
How to become a Food packaging operative
You can get into this job through:
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
Apprenticeship
Direct application
You could apply directly for jobs. You don't usually need any qualifications to start as a packaging operative, although it may help if you've worked on a production line before.
More information
Career tips
A forklift licence could be useful in some jobs for moving finished products to factory storage areas.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- the ability to work on your own
- knowledge of manufacturing production and processes
- the ability to use, repair and maintain machines and tools
- the ability to work well with others
- knowledge of maths
- physical skills like movement, coordination, dexterity and grace
- Being able to use a computer terminal or hand-held device may be beneficial for this job.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
Your duties might include:
- checking products on the production line for quality
- keeping machines supplied with packaging materials and labels
- reporting machine faults
- adjusting machine settings
Working environment
You could work in a factory.
Your working environment may be hot, noisy and cool.
You may need to wear protective clothing.
Career path and progression
With experience, you could progress to supervisor or manager.Training opportunities
Apprenticeships In England
We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for a Food packaging operative right now.
The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and has advice on how to apply.
Courses In England
Performing Manufacturing Operations ( Level 2)
- Provider: Blackburn College
- Start date: 03 September 2019
- Location: BLACKBURN
Intermediate Apprenticeship in Improving operational performance - Pathway - Performing Manufacturing Operations.
- Provider: SPRINGFIELDS FUELS LIMITED
- Start date: 01 August 2019
- Location: