Supply Chain Apprentice
ABP UK · Armthorpe, Doncaster DN3 3FF, UK
Our estimate of how close this job is to decisions about what protein a business sources, specifies, buys and serves. How we score
Why this role matters
How close this job is to real sourcing and menu decisions.
ABP UK is one of the country's largest meat processors, and this apprenticeship sits inside its Planning and Procurement function at the Doncaster site, so the raw material flowing through this desk is meat from day one. As an apprentice you won't set supplier standards or sourcing criteria, but you will learn exactly how a meat supply chain actually runs: how purchase orders are raised, how production plans are built against customer orders, how raw material gets allocated to the factory floor. That operational fluency is rare and valuable. It's the language and system knowledge that people who later write supplier specifications or audit requirements in this industry usually had to learn somewhere first. If you want to understand how meat gets sourced and produced, and eventually have a say in the standards suppliers are held to, understanding the mechanics of production planning and procurement from the inside, at a company of this scale, is a genuine way in.
Where this role can take you
What this job teaches you, and the jobs it can lead to.
What you'd build
- Purchase order and stock management
- Production planning experience
- Supplier liaison in a meat supply chain
- Cross-departmental coordination
- Factory operations systems knowledge
Where it can lead
- Procurement Coordinator
- Production Planner
- Supply Chain Coordinator
These roles typically hold more direct input into which suppliers are used and on what terms, a step closer to setting the sourcing criteria that determine supplier and welfare standards.
About the role
This is a Level 3 Supply Chain Apprenticeship at ABP UK's Armthorpe site in Doncaster, giving the postholder exposure to both the Planning and Procurement departments within the factory. On the procurement side, responsibilities include managing the flow of goods into the Doncaster site so the factory holds the right amount of stock, raising purchase orders, interacting with suppliers to manage stock and delivery of goods, understanding what material is needed to fulfil the production plan and where to source it, reconciling stock levels, updating systems, and liaising with multiple departments to ensure jobs are completed on time. On the planning side, responsibilities include building a production plan, keeping plans as efficient as possible while minimising waste, delivering strong customer service levels, maintaining company systems, allocating raw material to the factory, highlighting anomalies in customer orders as they arrive, liaising across departments, and acting as first point of contact for the factory on planning matters. The apprentice is also expected to take on other tasks as requested by their manager and to adhere to all health and safety and food hygiene standards. The advert asks for candidates who are organised, assertive, able to use their own initiative, quick learners, good team players with strong communication skills, and self-motivated, while completing a Level 3 supply chain apprenticeship. The role is permanent, full-time and based on site in Armthorpe, Doncaster, with salary described only as competitive.
We added this one ourselves, from the employer's own advert.
Key terms to include in your CV and cover letter
What this employer is asking for, in their words. Applications are often screened by software looking for exact phrases, so if these describe your experience, use their wording.
- purchase order management
- supplier liaison
- stock reconciliation
- production planning
- raw material allocation
- inventory management
- cross-departmental coordination
- customer service
- systems administration
- health and safety compliance
- food hygiene standards
- supply chain apprenticeship
- self-motivation
- communication skills
- initiative
How to position yourself
The language that works with hiring managers for this kind of job.
Frame your interest around wanting to understand how a large-scale food supply chain operates end to end - reliability of supply, efficiency, minimising waste - rather than anything welfare-specific at this stage. Emphasise organisational skills, use of systems, and willingness to learn processes across procurement and planning; a Level 3 supply chain apprenticeship and any exposure to purchase order systems or stock reconciliation are worth highlighting.
You apply directly with the employer. We just link you to their advert, and we don't see anything you send them.