2 Sisters Sandycroft boost employment and skills with 60 new apprenticeship opportunities

Launching a Butchery Academy Apprenticeship programme in collaboration with Coleg Cambria

Offering up to 60 new apprenticeships over the next 12 months

2 Sisters Food Group’s UK Poultry site in Sandycroft, in collaboration with Coleg Cambria, have today announced a commitment to boost employment and skills in the Flintshire region by offering opportunities for up to 60 new Apprentices over the next 12 months.

Launching their Butchery Academy Apprenticeship programme with Coleg Cambria, 2 Sisters in Sandycroft will provide fully-funded Level 2 Poultry Apprenticeships. Coleg Cambria will deliver the apprenticeships on site, providing best-in-class educational support in the workplace over a 15-month period. This will provide a vocational route for Apprentices to gain a nationally recognised qualification whilst earning a market-rate wage.

2 Sisters is now recruiting for an initial cohort of 20 new Apprentices to join and start their careers. Apprentices will start on a standard weekly wage of £355 - plus the potential to earn £393 per week after just 12 weeks. Apprentices will also enjoy employee benefits including retail discounts, gym membership offers, life assurance and staff shop perks.

Amy Wilkinson, HR Manager, said: “We are making a commitment to providing learning opportunities and long-term employment to as many Flintshire residents as possible, playing our part in boosting employment and skills in the region.

“The Sandycroft site has provided steady employment in the community for over 40 years and we are now looking ahead to create a skilled and sustainable workforce of the future. A key part of our commitment is to provide ongoing employment to all at the end of the learning period. This will help us to develop competent, skilled and sustainable teams”.

Kate Muddiman, Work-based Learning Manager at Coleg Cambria, has worked closely with the 2 Sisters Sandycroft Learning & Development team in developing the programme.

Kate said: “Coleg Cambria is proud to be working in association with a company so committed to investing in the future workforce in the area. Apprenticeships are a fantastic way to enter the job market or have a complete career change as they are open to all ages over 16 and will give people the opportunity to learn new skills while earning. This is a fantastic Academy programme.”

Matt Edwards, Food Manufacturing Assessor at Coleg Cambria, currently facilitates a smaller learning programme at Sandycroft and visits the site regularly to assess and support apprentices. This smaller programme has been running for the last 12 months and its success has been key to the commitment to this large-scale programme.

Matt said: “It has been a pleasure working with staff at 2 Sisters during the past year. Despite the difficulties of 2020, 2 Sisters have supported colleagues to continue to develop their skills and progress with their qualifications.

“I am very much looking forward to this new Butchery Academy Apprenticeship programme to support even more people in developing their skills and understanding in the butchery sector.”

The call for applications is now open and anyone aged 18 or over can apply. There is no age limit and no requirement for any previous poultry or food manufacturing experience as a full structured learning programme will be delivered.

Apprentices will be onboarded in two groups of 10 on each Production shift. The initial group of 20 Apprentices will be enrolled and in their placement by the end of July 2021. New intakes are then planned to start every 12 weeks through to July 2022.

Applications and enquiries can be made by email to: SandycroftApprenticeships@2sfg.com.

NB Image taken pre-Covid