Case Studies
Bringing Food Technology to Life: Inside CQM’s Food Industry Technologist Level 3 Programme
Bringing Food Technology to Life: Inside CQM’s Food Industry Technologist Level 3 Programme
Video Transcript
If you’d prefer to read the full conversation, here’s a complete transcript from the video.
The Evolving Role of a Food Technologist
“The skill set that is required of a technologist today is far more complicated than it ever was. Technologies are far more complicated than they ever were. You still need those individuals to have those fundamental principles underlying those technologies so that when they’re doing investigations, when they’re trying to understand where things have gone wrong, they have a better understanding of those fundamentals to make better judgments about why things are happening.”
Lucy Catley – Senior Lecturer, Harper Adams
Blending Theory with Hands-on Experience
“In terms of what we cover here at Harper Adams, we’ve obviously got the knowledge side of it where we deliver some of the knowledge background for sensory and for microbiology.”
“They then go and have hands-on experience in the labs and then we go around the farm and it kind of puts in a little bit of context in terms of, you know, the food industry has many aspects. It’s not just industry production line making pork chops. We’ve actually got the start of the process here on the farm and it just brings it all together.”
Richard Everitt – Development Coach, CQM T&C
Building Technical Expertise in Food Science
“So microbiology, for example, so understanding the techniques that are used by commercial laboratories for the testing of their food products. They also get to understand the nutritional testing requirements of foods. So anything that has a declaration for nutrition requirements, for example.”
Lucy Catley – Senior Lecturer, Harper Adams
Learning in a State-of-the-Art Environment
“Normally the course, and I think most people that deliver this course, are very much knowledge-based, maybe a few practical examples, but nothing can beat coming to Harper Adams and seeing the facilities which are state-of-the-art.”
Richard Everitt – Development Coach, CQM T&C
Teaching Led by Industry Experts
“All of the staff that are involved in the teaching on the program are experts in their field and we continue to research in those fields of study.”
Lucy Catley – Senior Lecturer, Harper Adams
Apprentice’s Experience of Food Industry Technologist Level 3 Programme
“Oh, it’s brilliant. It’s brilliant. We’ve just done a load of testing. We’ve just done some air plates for E. coli. We’ve just done some plates where we’ve found some staphylococcal and some E. coli again, and it’s just brilliant. It’s eye-opening.”
“How friendly everybody is. I’ve never been to university. I was a bit nervous coming. This is my first day and it’s like I’ve been here for years.”
“So Richard from CQM is brilliant. He has been so supportive. He appreciates that life has bumps in the road. He’s there if you’ve got any questions. You know, you could ask him the same question over and over again and he would not get frustrated with you. If you need him by Teams, he’s there. If he’s not, he’ll make time for you some other time.”
Layla Jones – Food Technologist Level 3 Apprentice, Dunbia Group
“There’s just so many interesting things to learn and just meeting people from other companies as well with different perspectives.”
“I would recommend this programme because I found it really interesting. It’s been really nice meeting everyone and I think it will help further my career.”
Lucy Armstrong – Food Technologist Level 3 Apprentice, Lionel Hitchen
Food and drink manufacturing brings together science, quality, innovation, process and people in a fast-moving, highly practical environment.
CQM’s Food Industry Technologist Level 3 apprenticeship has been designed to reflect exactly that, bringing together apprentices from organisations across the UK to develop technical capability through applied learning, industry insight and shared experience.
The video success story below captures that experience brilliantly. Hear directly from apprentices on programme from Dunbia Group and Lionel Hitchen, alongside perspectives from one of Harper Adams University senior lecturers, Lucy Catley, and industry experienced Development Coach at CQM, Richard Everitt, as they share how practical workshops, industry focussed delivery and open cohort peer learning help bring food technology to life.
To find out more about the Food Industry Technologist Level 3 Apprenticeship
A Practical and Accessible Approach to Food Technology Development
The Food Industry Technologist Level 3 apprenticeship has been designed to meet the needs of food and drink manufacturers, empowering apprentices to deliver exceptional quality and compliance across new and existing product development, process improvement, health and safety, innovation and so much more.
The CQM delivery structure combines:
- accessible live online interactive workshops
- workplace and practical application, with real world examples and peer learning
- one-to-one coaching support from industry-experienced development coaches
- practical food sessions designed to embed learning through hands-on activity using state of the art facilities
- open cohorts bringing together apprentices from a diverse range of food and drink manufacturers
This creates a learning experience that feels connected to real manufacturing environments and the wider food and drink landscape.
Practical Sessions That Elevate the Learning Experience
The practical workshops delivered at Harper Adams University form an important part of the wider CQM programme experience.
These sessions give apprentices the opportunity to explore topics including food safety, microbiology, sensory evaluation, product quality, production processes and innovation within specialist food facilities and practical learning environments.
What stands out throughout the video is how often apprentices reference the value of experiencing this alongside peers from different organisations and sectors across food and drink manufacturing.
That wider exposure helps learners build confidence, share ideas, understand different approaches across the industry and strengthen the connection between technical learning and practical application.
Delivered by Industry-Experienced Experts
Another theme consistently highlighted throughout the apprentice feedback is the value of learning from people with genuine industry experience.
CQM’s delivery team combines technical expertise with practical manufacturing understanding, helping apprentices relate learning back to their own operational environments, challenges and career development.
Together with the practical sessions and open cohort model, this creates a programme experience that feels engaging, collaborative and highly relevant to modern food and drink manufacturing.
Supporting the Future of Food and Drink Manufacturing
Food and drink manufacturers continue to invest in people who can contribute across quality, safety, innovation, process understanding and continuous improvement.
CQM’s Food Industry Technologist Level 3 apprenticeship supports that development through a delivery model that combines accessibility, practical application, industry insight and collaboration across the sector.
For many apprentices, that combination is what makes the experience memorable, valuable and impactful long after the workshops themselves have finished.
Thank you to all the apprentices taking part in this case study including Lucy Armstrong at Lionel Hitchin and Layla Jones at Dunbia Group, and to the Harper Adams University and its helpful staff for allowing us to capture this footage during our practical workshops.
Would you like to find out more about our Food Industry Technologist Level 3 Programme?