The University of Lincoln’s National Centre for Food Manufacturing (NCFM) is a specialist apprenticeship provider with a national reputation for quality and expertise. Dedicated to helping food industry employees advance their careers. We understand the demands of studying while working in this fast-moving, dynamic industry while balancing family commitments. Our apprenticeships and distance-learning provision enables flexible study for those working across a range of areas.
Our aim is to develop the talent and skills to drive exciting new age industries and play a role in enabling a dynamic, technology driven economy. We aim to support continuous life-long learning by offering opportunities for personal and professional development.
The South Lincolnshire Food Enterprise Zone in Holbeach is a multi-million-pound business park and strategic investment for the Agri-food sector, and a prime location from where businesses can grow, with their skills and innovation needs supported by the National Centre for Food Manufacturing and the wider University.
The NCFM’s new £10m campus includes an Innovation Centre with labs, test kitchen, sensory suite, teaching rooms, and a Digital Food Manufacturing Technologies Centre, part of the Lincolnshire Institute of Technology, complementing the Food Automation, Robotics and Processing Research Centre on Park Road in Holbeach.
The team at the NCFM champions initiatives to widen access to Higher Education (HE) for STEM based subjects and to improve social mobility through the launch of non-credit bearing higher apprenticeships at level 4, 5 and 6. Students study a combination of vocational modules, tailored for each programme, alongside a core module of Functional Skills in Maths and English.
Programmes have been planned and delivered collaboratively with employer partners with the student and employer voice being a vital part of development and design.
Our aim is to provide exceptional teaching and pastoral guidance across our programmes, enabling a diverse student population not only to successfully participate and achieve in HE, but to also progress within their places of work.
At the NCFM we have a shared vision with our industry partners that we can change lives and enhance career progression through the power of vocational education, the NCFM has seen an increasing number of employers and learners seeking to undertake apprenticeships at level 4 and 5.
Joe Hughes, Supply Chain Practitioner L3 at Nestlé UK, recently completed his End Point Assessment (EPA) with OAL. Joe chose to do an apprenticeship when finishing college as he did not feel a degree was the right path for him to take,
“I wasn’t passionate about any subjects I could study as part of a degree and wanted the opportunity to earn a wage as soon as possible. An apprenticeship offered me the opportunity to earn and learn all while being part of a recognisable business…”
Joe enrolled on Supply Chain Practitioner L3 Apprenticeship with Nestlé UK and immediately felt he had made the right decision, as he discovered other benefits towards enrolling on an apprenticeship, I got to meet a wide range of people and make long term friends and connections. Every role I was given was a full-time job, I was given real responsibilities like a standard full-time employee. This allowed me to develop very quickly…”
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