Job description: Manufacturing Process Operator Apprenticeship, Irvine, UK, 2024

This role is based in Irvine where we manufacture the active ingredients and starting material for an antibiotic belonging to a group of drugs called penicillin. Around 135 million patients are treated with our finished product each year in over 140 countries.

Education required

Must have/be predicted to achieve a minimum of five National 4/5 (previously standard grades) or equivalent, including Mathematics, English and Science

plus

One higher grade (or equivalent), preferably in a Maths or a Science subject

If offered a position the candidate must be willing to enroll, and meet entry requirements

Must be able to commute to either the Irvine site or Kilmarnock College

Irvine is a Penicillin Manufacturing site. Please consider this if you are allergic to beta-lactam penicillin

Join GSK’s Manufacturing Process Operator Apprentice Programme – UK, 2023: Help us get ahead of disease together and earn while you learn

Starting salary of £16,000 increasing to £22,400 / year after 1 year + annual bonus based on company performance

Kickstart a long-term and rewarding career with nationally recognized Manufacturing qualifications. Lots of our current manufacturing Shift Team Leaders and Managers have started their careers as Manufacturing Apprentices, so this is a great starting point!

All costs of your apprenticeship covered by GSK

Expected Start date: August 2024

What will you be doing day-day?

During the apprenticeship you will study the theory of pharmaceutical production, first touch engineering and lean manufacturing as well as safety and risk management. You will complete a series of on-site job rotations, learning how to operate the different equipment that makes our pharmaceutical products.

Your duties might include:

Learning how to operate equipment in the manufacturing process

Investigating and solving problems and breakdowns

Collecting data and analysing it to identify improvement opportunities

Carrying out improvement projects with other apprentices and your team.

Learning about the functions that support manufacturing (laboratory, engineering, logistics & scheduling)

Assisting in new equipment introductions

Ensuring the safety of our people and products

Maintaining the quality and accuracy of our products.

Here’s how some of our current Manufacturing Process Operator Apprentices describe their roles:

The role involves variety, with different jobs each shift based on a rotation – so every day is different. You can be in the control room running the extraction plant one day and kegging our final product the next.

You will be monitoring the equipment in the plant to ensure it is adhering to set control parameters by gathering data from the control systems and analyzing trends. Problem solving involves being aware of adverse conditions in temperature, pressures, pH, flows, back pressures etc. and responding in the appropriate manner.

Elisha Bennison, Process Operator (former apprentice)

This is a 3-year practical, hands-on apprenticeship where you will be working towards a Manufacturing qualification through Kilmarnock College. The first year involves 4 days each week at college and one day on site. The remaining two years are spent on site full-time.

Your studies are fully funded by GSK, and through your day-day work you’ll have lots of opportunities to apply your theoretical knowledge in a real-world manufacturing environment.

Other perks include:

Eligibility for NUS Extra card providing you with discounts to many high street and online outlets.

Access to NxtGen – a social group where you can connect with other GSK apprentices nationally & internationally

Access to healthcare and well-being programmes

Employee recognition programs, which reward exceptional achievements

A buddy &/or mentor who will help you to prepare for joining GSK and who will be there to offer support and guidance throughout your apprenticeship.

Apply now

Please note we will update you regarding your application by the end of February 2024, if you have any questions please contact:

Assessment centres for shortlisted candidates will be held between February and April 2024.

Need help with your application?

Please email us at and let us know how we can help you.

You don’t need to have any previous work experience to be successful. We’re looking for candidates who are motivated to learn and who are excited to develop practical, hands-on manufacturing and problem-solving skills.

Top tips for your application

Once you’ve completed our short online application form, you will be invited to an online video interview. During this, we will ask you to tell us why you think our programme is a good fit for you and how your skills and interests will help you to succeed at GSK.

To help you prepare, we wanted to share some top tips to bear in mind while you’re answering the interview questions! Our Apprentices need:

An interest in, and motivation for becoming a multi-skilled Manufacturing Process Operator– you don’t need to have had any prior work experience, but you’ll need to tell us why you think this practical apprenticeship is for you. You may have interests, hobbies or experience that show you have a practical side – perhaps there are specific practical projects or subjects at school or college that you enjoyed; clubs that you’ve been part of; work experience or extracurricular activities with friends or family or volunteering, charity or community work that you want to tell us about. Your reasons will be personal to you, and we look forward to hearing about these during the application process.

Communication skills – you’ll meet and work with lots of different people across the site, so you will need to be able to listen to others and be open, honest and respectful in your communication. You can expect the same respect from others.

An ability to work within a team – you will have lots of your own tasks &/or projects to work on through the apprenticeship. You’ll also need to be able to work well with other people & consider the impact of your work and actions on other people too.

Ability to follow instructions / Personal responsibility – it is critical that you are able to follow work instructions and follow health and safety guidelines at all times – to keep you and your colleagues safe whilst ensuring the highest quality of the products that reach our patients. Don’t worry, you’ll get training on all of these when you start

A focus on quality (right first time) and problem solving – we’ll teach you how to safely work with manufacturing machinery and documentation tools. As you develop in your role, you’ll need to take a logical approach to problem solving whilst seeking opportunities to improve quality, speed and/or efficiency.

Ability to balance your work and study time – you’ll have the best of both worlds – a great start to your working career in a great industry and gain a nationally recognized Manufacturing Technician qualification. You’ll need to be able to manage your time and workload, and to stay motivated and committed when facing challenges. Rest assured, you’ll get lots of support from your manager and your teams, as well as your college tutors through your Apprenticeship.

#UKApprenticeships #EngineeringApprenticeships #ManufacturingApprenticeships #GSCUKApp

Why Us?

GSK is a global biopharma company with a special purpose – to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together – so we can positively impact the health of billions of people and deliver stronger, more sustainable shareholder returns – as an organization where people can thrive. Getting ahead means preventing disease as well as treating it, and we aim to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of 2030.

Our success absolutely depends on our people. While getting ahead of disease together is about our ambition for patients and shareholders, it’s also about making GSK a place where people can thrive. We want GSK to be a workplace where everyone can feel a sense of belonging and thrive as set out in our Equal and Inclusive Treatment of Employees policy. We’re committed to being more proactive at all levels so that our workforce reflects the communities we work and hire in, and our GSK leadership reflects our GSK workforce.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we are open to all talent. In the US, we also adhere to Affirmative Action principles. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to neurodiversity, race/ethnicity, colour, national origin, religion, gender, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, disability, genetic information, military service, covered/protected veteran status or any other federal, state or local protected class*(*US only).

We believe in an agile working culture for all our roles. If flexibility is important to you, we encourage you to explore with our hiring team what the opportunities are.

Should you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us on or 0808 234 4391. Please note should your enquiry not relate to adjustments, we will not be able to support you through these channels

As you apply, we will ask you to share some personal information which is entirely voluntary. We want to have an opportunity to consider a diverse pool of qualified candidates and this information will assist us in meeting that objective and in understanding how well we are doing against our inclusion and diversity ambitions. We would really appreciate it if you could take a few moments to complete it. Rest assured, Hiring Managers do not have access to this information and we will treat your information confidentially.

Important notice to Employment businesses/ Agencies

GSK does not accept referrals from employment businesses and/or employment agencies in respect of the vacancies posted on this site. All employment businesses/agencies are required to contact GSK’s commercial and general procurement/human resources department to obtain prior written authorization before referring any candidates to GSK. The obtaining of prior written authorization is a condition precedent to any agreement (verbal or written) between the employment business/ agency and GSK. In the absence of such written authorization being obtained any actions undertaken by the employment business/agency shall be deemed to have been performed without the consent or contractual agreement of GSK. GSK shall therefore not be liable for any fees arising from such actions or any fees arising from any referrals by employment businesses/agencies in respect of the vacancies posted on this site.

Please note that if you are a US Licensed Healthcare Professional or Healthcare Professional as defined by the laws of the state issuing your license, GSK may be required to capture and report expenses GSK incurs, on your behalf, in the event you are afforded an interview for employment. This capture of applicable transfers of value is necessary to ensure GSK’s compliance to all federal and state US Transparency requirements. For more information, please visit GSK’s Transparency Reporting site.

Expected salary:

Location: Irvine, North Ayrshire

Job date: Fri, 01 Dec 2023 23:29:56 GMT

Apply for the job now!

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