What I do

I’m in the operations team at Premier Foods, so we look after the maintenance of the building, equipment, and perform risk assessments. It’s my job to make sure that the machines and the equipment that create food are working and safe. I also get to work with machinery that wouldn’t look out of place in a Transformers film every single day!

Hear more about Ruel's role by watching the video below...

How I became a technician

I got this job through sheer luck. After finishing my GCSEs, I wasn’t that keen on sixth form or college - one of my friends had started an apprenticeship at Premier Foods and said there were some temporary jobs if I was interested. I jumped at the chance and three months later an apprenticeship came up in Research and Development.

It’s more hands on, and I really enjoy being engaged and challenged, so it was definitely the right choice for me. We have a tutor who visits on site bi-weekly. I’m doing a Level 3 Food and Drink Technical Operator qualification and will also get a Level 2 qualification in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering.

A typical day in my
working life

It is such a varied job role there really is no typical day! It's my job to make sure that the equipment and machines that create food are working and safe for use. The day usually starts with pre-start checks and start-up checks in the pilot plant. That means equipment is ready and in good order for when people need to use it for trial and R&D work. Trial work involves seeing how different processes effect products that may then be moved to factory production. One thing we are currently working on is vegan Bisto Best gravy. We test how it reacts with hot water and whether it combines properly, and once we get it right, we pass it on to the factory.

A lot of ingredients need to be pulled in from different areas or departments on site, so a Product Technologist will let me know where they all are and give me a point of contact. I will liaise with the contact, jump on a forklift truck, go to where I need to be, grab the pallet and bring it back to the pilot plant ready for use as needed. I had to have specialist driving training for the forklift and I was trained here for that.

Some days I will be on my feet all day and others are more sedentary, if, for example, we have risk assessments that need reviewing. If any contractors come on to site, I will be the first point of contact, I'll do their inductions and book them on to the system and update the rest of the team on site. It is a mixed bag, and no day is ever the same.

Whether it's working with people, equipment or machinery I think knowing when you go to the supermarket and you see a product in there that you've helped develop, that is really rewarding.

I have got the best job in the world hands down, and I won't let anyone tell me otherwise.

A little more about
my everyday role

The best bits about working in a team

We are a small team, and we are all different ages and at different stages in our careers. My boss has been great helping with questions around nutrition, bacteria, cleaning, or chemicals. Another colleague is more hands-on and is great with the equipment and tools. But everyone in the building is helpful if you have any questions. There is a supportive culture.

The most exciting thing I’ve achieved so far in my job

I am currently doing my endpoint assessment which is focused on influencing continuous improvement. When I took over the contractor inductions, it was a very long laborious process which could take hours if you had to induct four or five different people. In a previous job I had a lot of experience on Microsoft forms, and I thought I could get this to work for inductions here. It took about four weeks to implement but I moved the whole induction process to make it electronic. You can now export all the information to excel, and I use that excel spreadsheet to find information easily which has significantly reduced the amount of paperwork and ink we use. I also created a QR code so if you get six or seven people in a room, they can all scan it, and then you can go through the induction with everyone at the same time. I can now do six inductions in the same time it used to take to do one, so I’m really proud of that!

My favourite piece of equipment

The thing I'm most proud of being able to use is a giant piece of kit we've got which spans two storeys high and it works by pulling air through, making dry stuff move around, then wet stuff comes in from above, it creates granules, and you get a product at the end. To be able to use that kit on my own, unsupervised and competently is something I am extremely proud of.

The next steps in my career journey

I really like the engineering part and I would like to get deep into how the machinery works and how to fix it. At the same time, when I work with the Product Technologists and they talk about how they are creating products from scratch, I would like to know much more about that. I am hoping Premier Foods can support me in that.

The advice I'd give to
someone younger

Be kind to yourself. It’s so easy at that young age to think you have made the wrong decision and beat yourself up for it, but don’t worry and give yourself a break.

Find out more about this role

Discover what qualifications you’ll need, how much you can earn, and what the next steps are.

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Ruel Garratt