Food technology
Our food technologists are responsible for the safety and quality of all M&S food.
Based at our Waterside Head Office in London, they keep an eye on the latest technical developments and assess if they could be used to enhance our own product offering. They also work closely with our suppliers to ensure that our food continues to set new standards in terms of innovation, quality and value.
As a graduate, what would my role be?
You’ll start off as a trainee food technologist, spending up to two years working in different food areas until you’ve gained enough experience to become a qualified technologist. A key part of your role during this process will be to develop good relationships with your suppliers. You’ll spend a lot of time travelling between them, learning about the factory processes they use, and ensuring the products they manufacture and the environments they manufacture them in are of the highest quality.
You’ll also work closely with buyers, product developers and packaging coordinators to create new products for our various ranges. And you’ll carry out regular testing of our existing products to make sure they meet our stringent standards.
How will you help me develop?
The majority of your learning will be on the job, although you will receive specific training on our various codes of practice. You’ll also spend time working at a supplier, and in one of our stores, to understand the process of how a product gets from the production line into a customer’s trolley
What sort of qualities are you looking for?
You’ll need to have a food-related scientific degree, covering both food microbiology and HACCP. Excellent communication skills are also a must, as you’ll be working closely with a variety of internal teams as well as external suppliers. And if you’re the type of person who enjoys working through problems and coming up with new solutions along the way, even better.
What happens after I’ve completed the scheme?
Once you’ve completed your training period, which is normally around three years, you’ll be appointed as a food technologist. This appointment will be into one of the areas within Foods. From there we’ll continue to help you develop your skills and give you the chance to work in a number of different areas to broaden your experience. The next step up after that would be to become a lead technologist – but as for how quickly you can get there, that will depend on your ability and desire to succeed.
Applications for our 2009/10 intake have now closed - we'll be
re-opening applications for our 2010/11 intake in September so
don't forget to come back then.
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