We are once again opening our doors for apprentices to join our award-winning Young Talent Programme in September.

With opportunities within both our Cider and Brand Academies, we are looking for remarkable and motivated people to join our growing family.

Since it was introduced three years ago, 19 young people have undertaken the Young Talent apprenticeship programme, from cidermakers and technicians, to marketeers, customer service and orchard specialists.

To coincide with National Apprenticeship Week (8-14^TH February) this year, instead of a Careers Open Day,  we will be offering a series of videos and virtual presentations so that potential applicants can get a feel for working at Myrtle Farm and undertaking an apprenticeship.

The first event is a virtual careers fair taking place on Thursday 18^th February between 4-6pm.

More details can be found here

Here’s what some of our apprentices have to say about working at Myrtle Farm:

Harriet Waldron, a Brand Apprentice who now works full time at Thatchers says, “I would absolutely recommend an apprenticeship here at Thatchers. It’s a great place to develop and grow as a person and you’ll gain real autonomy. You really are valued and treated as a member of the team from day one. You are trusted to support team members, learn from them and build up trust.”

Brand Apprentice Rose Stitch says, “Coming out of sixth form and going out into the world of work felt quite daunting. But Thatchers have really helped with the transition and have helped to bring out the best in me.”

Luke Grindle, who has followed the Cider Academy says, “Thatchers is a company that challenges you to think for yourself and to use your initiative but learn from any mistakes. Apprenticeships open opportunities that you didn’t even know existed.”

Tom Cross has also followed the Cider Academy. He says, “I wanted to gain hands on experience in a role that had variety to learn new skills. I didn’t want to join a big corporate company or scheme, so this was perfect for me.”

Emma Cox, who oversees the Thatchers Young Talent programme says, “We’re always looking for remarkable and motivated people to join our Thatchers family.  We know it’s a big decision to take your first steps into a career, and at Thatchers we will give you all the training, support and development you need to succeed.  What we ask in return is hard-work, trust and for you to share the same enthusiasm and passion for our cider and business as we do.

“Despite not being able to hold a careers day at Myrtle Farm this year, we hope that applicants will get a real feel for life here through the virtual events we are putting on.

“As a company we’re so proud of our Somerset roots. We’re committed to investment in our facilities here in Sandford, which is why all our ciders are made and packaged here. That leads to a wide variety in roles – from being part of our farm team, to a cidermaker; from engineers to sales executives; from finance to customer service. Students who have completed their apprenticeship with us at Thatchers have also gone on to gain higher qualifications to help them even further in their roles.”

This year we are offering four vacancies for September 2021 within our Cider and Brand Academies, leading to a Level 2 Food and Drink Process Operator, and a Level 3 Customer Service Specialist.

We work with Bridgwater and Taunton College, and Weston College, to develop and implement the apprenticeship programme.

The Thatchers apprenticeship programme has won a string of awards since it was set up three years ago. The company is a firm supporter of the government’s National Apprenticeship programme, with National Apprenticeship Week taking place from 8-14 February 2020.

Emma continues,

“Apprentices get a win-win – real work, in a real company, and a guaranteed salary. From our side as an employer we get to see a fresh injection of talent, keen, inquisitive people bursting with new ideas. Our apprentices make a real difference to our business – they work, collaborate and learn. We can’t wait to welcome new members to the team this September!”