Wigan & Leigh College Welcomes First Cohort of Level 3 Food and Drink Maintenance Engineers

Published: 16th December 2025

Written by: Lydia Edwards-Massie

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Wigan & Leigh College has proudly launched its inaugural cohort of Level 3 Food and Drink Maintenance Engineers at its Pagefield campus, marking a major milestone in strengthening the UK’s food and drink manufacturing workforce. The first group of apprentices includes:

Daniel Scullion, Muller
Daniel Shaw, Muller
Kai Lister-Hargreaves, Muller
Patryk Oleksy, Dunbia UK

The North-West is home to one of the UK’s largest food and drink manufacturing clusters, employing around 57,000 people and contributing £4.4 billion to the regional economy. Apprenticeships such as this play a vital role in addressing critical skills gaps and ensuring a strong pipeline of engineering talent for the future.

Building Skills for a Growing Sector

The Food and Drink Maintenance Engineer apprenticeship equips learners with the expertise to keep food manufacturing equipment and systems running smoothly, safely, and efficiently. Apprentices gain skills in automation, process control, and maintenance technologies, capabilities that are increasingly essential to meet the sector’s demand for technically skilled engineers. This pioneering programme has been developed through close collaboration between us, the National Skills Academy for Food & Drink (NSAFD) and Wigan & Leigh College. Specialist tutors at the College have worked hand-in-hand with employers to design a tailored delivery model: block release in the first year, followed by day release in subsequent years. This approach ensures apprentices can balance practical workplace experience with academic development.

“We’re proud to see Wigan and Leigh College, part of our NSAFD Provider Network, delivering the Level 3 Food and Drink Engineering Maintenance apprenticeship to apprentices from Muller and Dunbia - two valued members of our Employer Services Network. This first cohort represents a major step forward in building the technical talent our sector needs, and we’re delighted to have supported its development from the ground up." — Louise Cairn, CEO, National Skills Academy for Food & Drink

Employer Collaboration at the Heart

As the programme gains momentum, Wigan & Leigh College is keen to engage with more food and drink employers, both to support new recruits and to explore upskilling opportunities for existing staff.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to support the next generation of engineers in one of the UK’s most critical sectors,” said Karl Rogers, Head of Employer Engagement at Wigan & Leigh College. “We’re proud to be working with employers like Muller and Dunbia UK to deliver high-quality training that meets real-world demands.”

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Wigan & Leigh College Welcomes First Cohort of Level 3 Food and Drink Maintenance Engineers

Building Skills for a Growing Sector

Employer Collaboration at the Heart

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