Job Description:

Level 2 Baker Apprenticeship

Hours of work: Various 3 x 12 hour shifts - 36 hours per week, plus 1 day release at college.

Salary: Starting rate of £11.00ph, increasing to £13.36 once fully trained and completed apprenticeship.

Site Locations:

• Hayhill Industrial Estate, Sileby Rd, Barrow upon Soar, Loughborough LE12 8LD
• Glenfield 1 & 2 - 30B Optimus Wy, Glenfield, Leicester LE3 8JR

The Role

Our Bakery Apprentices are (quite literally) the bread and butter of Geary’s. We are looking for apprentice bakers to join our expanding business and learn all aspects of bakery production, from dough mixing and proofing through to final packaging.

Professional bakery apprentices at Geary’s would be part of an experienced, passionate team, proud of every product we make and raising the bar for quality. We want individuals who are as passionate about baking as we are.

As a Bakery Apprentice, you would be responsible for ensuring the delicious bread we produce and package is of the best possible quality, that adds a spark of joy to people’s daily lives. Your main responsibilities would include:

• Mixing various doughs to specification, learning to see and feel what good looks like.
• Learning correct dough handling and moulding techniques.
• Checking product proof times and heights to deliver the same quality, every time.
• Setting oven temperatures according to product specification, and load/unload ovens.
• Checking products for quality and identify where a product is out of spec’.
• Observing colour of products being baked and adjust oven temperatures/times accordingly.
• Checking equipment to ensure that it meets health and safety regulations, and perform maintenance or cleaning, as necessary.
• Measuring or weigh flour or other ingredients to prepare doughs and toppings using scales and measuring equipment.
• Checking the quality of raw materials to ensure that standards and specifications are met.
• Setting machinery to apply pre-bake toppings to dough, within specification.
• Applying pre-bake toppings by hand.
• Preparing the dough raw materials, ready for mixing.
• Preparing and maintaining production records.
• Operating slicing or wrapping machines

About Us:

At Geary’s Bakeries, we’re on a crusade to make proper bread more accessible to more people. We’re passionate about re-imagining the way Great Britain thinks about their everyday loaf. This passion is at the heart of everything we do, and have done, since 1906.

We are ‘born and bread’ in Leicestershire and proud of our long-standing heritage. Today, we operate from three sites on a 24/7 operation. We’re made up of towards 900 people: a friendly, diverse and outgoing team, passionate about making a difference to the bakery industry.

The business has grown rapidly from £5m in annual sales to £125m+ in the last 15 years with strong and consistent profitability. We have an ambition to increase sales to more than £200m+ in the next 3- 5 years. A clear Vision and Strategy has been articulated, and this is being backed with major capital investment and a renewal and upgrading of the people, processes, and systems.

Our brilliant benefits include free delicious bread, BUPA Cashback Plan, Death In Service, a Cycle to Work scheme and a chance to win a £10k worth prizes annually! Plus, if you refer a friend to join our team, you could earn up to £500!

About You:

At Geary’s, we look for people who show up every day to do their best. We’re a passionate, friendly team and look for the same qualities in our new apprentices. We firmly believe your attitude and approach is just as important (if not, more so) than the skills and experience on your CV.

What we’re looking for:

• A passion about creating baked goods and having a career as a Baker
• Previous kitchen experience or studied a relevant course (desirable)
• Maths and English at a Level 2 standard (desirable)
• A commitment to work, with excellent timekeeping skills
• A passion to learn and develop
• Great communication skills (we love to have a chat)
• Team players

In return, you will benefit from:

• Full training and mentorship from an outstanding, highly skilled team in an incredible environment across Geary’s bakery sites.
• Day release to college to complete a level 2 plant baker qualification.
• Excellent starting rate of pay, with tiered incentives to learn and progress.
• Our brilliant benefits include free delicious bread, a Cycle to Work scheme.

All applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK for the full duration of the apprenticeship. Due to government funding requirements, candidates will normally need to have been ordinarily resident in the UK, EU/EEA or Switzerland for the three years prior to the start date and hold immigration permission that allows them to live and work in the UK. Visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Successful applicants will be required to provide evidence of their eligibility as part of the recruitment process.