EPA Standards
Food & Drink
Baker
Bakers work in one of the largest, most dynamic and fastest growing sectors of the food and drink industry. Every day bakers make and sell millions of loaves of bread and baked goods, such as cakes, pies, pastries and biscuits to customers in the UK and around the world. Bakers are passionate about their industry and the products they make and take great pride in their work. There are many varied employment and career opportunities in the bakery industry. Bakers may be employed in a traditional craft bakery or in a large automated processing plant; a specialist retail shop or supermarket. Many bakers opt to set up and manage their own businesses. The industry offers many ongoing career development opportunities to suit their own particular interests, whether they aspire to being a manager of the future, a specialist baker, product designer or retail bakery expert.
View the standard at the Institute for Apprenticeships here.
Butcher
Butchery is one of the oldest crafts in the world, and is often where innovation meets tradition to create an industry full of character and camaraderie that plays a critical role in our social and economic future. A successful butcher must demonstrate dexterous knife skills together with craft to be able to produce the most cuts to make every carcase profitable. Butchers work in the meat and poultry industry, which is worth several billion pounds in the UK and employs thousands of workers in the farm to fork supply chain. Qualified butchers can look forward to rewarding careers in a range of environments with different types of employers. Employers include both processors and retailers. Processors range from multinational processing businesses supplying meat or meat products to, for example: large food outlets, supermarkets and hotel chains; to smaller processors supplying for example, independent/local food businesses. Retailers could include supermarkets, independent retailers and farm shops. Those with an entrepreneurial spirit may be particularly attracted to butchery as the sector relies on a high proportion of small businesses, offering the potential for experienced butchers to set up on their own.
View the standard at the Institute for Apprenticeships here.
Food & Drink process operator
Food and Drink Process Operators work in one of the largest, most dynamic and fastest growing sectors of industry. Every day, producers, manufacturers and retailers make and sell millions of innovative food products to consumers in the UK and around the world. This includes drinks, cakes, biscuits, ready-to-eat and ready-to cook food, sandwiches, wraps, fresh fruit and salads. It is imperative that Process Operators in the industry have the skills and knowledge to ensure our food products, which millions of people consume every day, are safe. Process Operators work in the manufacturing sector of the food and drink industry. They may be employed in a company that specialises one type of product, e.g. ready meals, soft drinks or confectionery, or in a company that makes a wide range of different products. Process Operators typically work on production lines within food manufacturing plants. The industry uses excellent manufacturing processes and highly automated equipment and technology to ensure it remains competitive, and produces food and drink products to strict food safety and quality standards.
View the standard at the Institute for Apprenticeships here.
Food & Drink Maintenance engineer
The Food and Drink industry is an exciting place to be a Maintenance Engineer. World-class companies in the industry use some of the most innovative, modern and technically automated equipment available to manufacture a wide range of food and drink products for consumers. Companies employ Mechanical and/or Multi-skilled Maintenance Engineers according to the type of products they make. Food and Drink Mechanical Maintenance Engineers will mainly work with mechanical and electrical equipment and production systems. Food and Drink Multi-skilled Maintenance Engineers will work with mechanical and electrical equipment plus highly automated programmable control systems. Both Mechanical and Multi-skilled Engineers need to maximise the benefits of the technology and equipment they work with. Depending on the type of product and plant in the company, engineering activities carried out will include routine maintenance, fault finding and diagnosis, testing and commissioning. They must ensure that maintenance activities contribute to optimising food and drink production levels.
View the standard at the Institute for Apprenticeships here.
Download our Food & Drink Maintenance engineer EPA specification
Food & Drink Advanced process operator
Food and Drink Advanced Process Operators work in one of the largest, most dynamic and fastest growing sectors of industry. Every day, producers, manufacturers and retailers make and sell millions of innovative food products to consumers in the UK and around the world. This includes drinks, cakes, biscuits, ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook food, sandwiches, wraps, fresh fruit and salads. It is imperative that apprentices in the industry have the skills and knowledge to ensure our food products, which millions of people consume every day, are safe. Advanced Operators work in the manufacturing sector of the food and drink industry. They typically work on production lines in manufacturing plants, but will spend some time offline while working on activities such as new product development. They have both knowledge and skills in preventative maintenance activities and Continuous Improvement (CI) techniques, which are essential to maintaining and improving productivity in food and drink manufacturing sites.
View the standard at the Institute for Apprenticeships here.
Advanced Dairy Technologist
Advanced Dairy Technologists play a pivotal role in the dairy industry. From a base of strong dairy science and technology knowledge they ensure that raw materials e.g. milk from cows, sheep, goats, camels etc. are manufactured into a wide range of finished products including liquid milks, cheeses, ice creams, powders and ingredients, yoghurt, butter, sports drinks and baby formulas. Advanced Dairy Technologists are in roles developing, producing and controlling production of dairy products. They know how dairy products are produced and they operate and manage process, filling/packing and cleaning plant and other dairy unit operations. They ensure that plant performance and the final dairy product and volumes are in accordance with specifications and targets by monitoring and adjusting process and equipment settings and by carrying out tests on equipment and product. They monitor waste levels and ensure that the hygiene of the production environment is in accordance with legislation, regulations and product quality requirements. Continuous improvement, problem solving, project management, tests and trials are activities performed in all areas as part of the daily job.
View the standard at the Institute for Apprenticeships here.
Fishmonger
A career as a fishmonger is hugely rewarding and no two days are ever the same. They carry out a wealth of different tasks and develop a multitude of different skills. Fishmongers are responsible for preparing and selling fish, and shellfish products, to members of the public. They possess first class customer service and selling skills, and have a deep understanding of the fish and shellfish industry, species identification, preparation methods, and detailed product knowledge. Fishmongers are the face of the seafood industry, interacting with consumers, answering any questions they have, and helping them to make educated decisions on which fish they purchase. Fishmongers know about a range of fish and shellfish, and the various techniques needed to process and/or produce their products. In addition, they will be able to cut, prepare, package and present fish and shellfish products to the highest of standards.
View the standard at the Institute for Apprenticeships here
Hygiene Specialist
View the standard at the Institute for Apprenticeships here.
Download our Hygiene specialist EPA specification
Download our quality practitioner EPA specification
Quality practitioner
View the standard at the Institute for Apprenticeships here.
Food & Drink engineer
View the standard at the Institute for Apprenticeships here.