Prima Cheese prides itself on being a forward thinking and proactive company, always working to achieve excellence in our field, and part of this drive is to push and continually improve ourselves and the support we offer the great people that work in our company.

As part of this continual drive, we have this year committed ourselves to developing local young people by taking on 3 bright, talented apprentices and a university placement student across 4 departments within the company. We feel that our investment in training and developing apprentices is invaluable in nurturing the next generation of working professionals, and are as an entire company, dedicated to support each of them on their journey to achieve their full potential within Prima and beyond!

We are super excited to have them join the Prima family and welcome Catherine in Graphics, Jack in IT, Connor in Engineering and Amy in QA

Don’t just take our word for it……

We asked all our apprentices what they thought of their time at Prima so far….and this is what they said…….

Catherine our Graphic Design Apprentice

“I have loved that in my role I get an insight into lots of different aspects of the business from Marketing, Design and so much more. It has really helped me to develop skills which I can take onto my future career, like my communication skills and using all the design software I need.”

Jack our IT Apprentice:

“I have liked how friendly everyone is and the general attitude of people I’ve worked with. I have also liked getting to develop my skills with computers practically on a day to day basis. I have also learned a lot about network infrastructures and how to fix issues with a variety of pieces of hardware. My communication skills have improved and I am much better at expressing what I am trying to get across”

Amy our QA University Placement:

Amy is doing a university placement with us in Quality Assurance. She is in her 3rd year at the Harper Adams University and is doing her BSC (Hons) in Food Technology and Product Development. We are so happy she decided to choose us for her placement! We asked Amy how she was finding her placement so far.

“I enjoy coming into work as I get along with everyone in my department and there is always something new and interesting to learn and do. My skills in organisation and teamwork continue to improve and the knowledge and 1st hand experience I am gaining in quality assurance will aid me so much when I do my research honors project, in my final year of Uni, and delve further into my career.”

Hear from our Engineering Manger Chris Stuck

We also wanted to hear from the people who are supporting our apprentices, so here is what Chris Stuck the Engineering manager has said about Connor our Engineering apprentice;

‘’Connor is a local lad to Seaham, Engineering runs in his family, so being around family members who work in the engineering field is what gave him the desire to become a multi-Disciplined Engineer. Connor was over the moon when he was successful in securing an HNC apprenticeship, not just in becoming a Multi- Disciplined Engineer but also as it was with Prima Cheese, a well renowned , respected local company to him in Seaham. Connor’s apprenticeship is a 5-year HNC Engineering course at Sunderland College”

Connor our Engineering Apprentice

“As a young person with ambitions of becoming a successful Engineer, I was looking for a challenge where I can expand my Engineering understanding, knowledge and skill base. The position of multi-skilled apprentice with Prima Cheese will certainly provide that opportunity. The people are very knowledgeable, friendly, professional and will help in any way possible. At Prima you get a sense of belonging where you are more than just a number and I am happy to know that they will support me throughout my future career.

I look forward to gaining skills in electrical, mechanical and machining that will help me progress through my career and the Further Education which the company has provided will teach me these skills as well as giving me a broader Engineering knowledge of many tools and machining techniques.”

Nagma Ebanks-Beni MBE Commercial Director

And finally we hear from Nagma Ebanks-Beni our Commercial Director who has always been a great advocate of tapping into and supporting young local talent;

‘’We are thrilled to be able to offer a platform for these young talented apprentices to be able to learn the skills and gain the experience from a dedicated team of managers, within a highly professional environment. It is hugely important to us to help nurture these individuals in confidence and the skills required to go onto showcase their talents in their chosen careers, and undoubtably be an asset to the future of our nation’s workforce’’

Prima cheese continues to seek and invest in attracting apprentices on into many departments of the company and we will keep you all updated of everyone’s progress in the coming months and years ahead!

Prima Stretches Further