Apprenticeships at Bakers
At Bakers, we are proud to support National Apprenticeship Week, celebrating the growth and success of our apprentices as they build confidence, develop essential skills, and progress into permanent roles within our team. Committed to closing the skills gap, we actively welcome young people into the print industry while also using our training platform, Bakers Academy, to give staff a broader understanding of every division of the business. Our dedication to workforce development was recently recognised at the Digital Printer Awards, where we proudly received the Closing the Skills Gap Award.
In line with this year’s theme, Skills for Life, we’ve engaged with our current and previous apprentices to explore their journeys—the challenges they’ve overcome, the skills they’ve gained, and how their experiences are shaping their future success.
Current Bakers Apprentices
Izelda
“In July I attended the apprenticeship open day, which led me to secure an Office Apprentice role at Bakers. In my role, I process orders, estimate prices for customers matching their requirements and speak to customers.
Being at Bakers is very different for me. I just came out of school so it was daunting at first, but the environment is so friendly. There are lots of different people here and everyone is open to learning.
I now have confidence in speaking with new people and my time management has improved massively. The apprenticeship has also given me the first step into the world of work, I am learning more skills every day.
The events are my favourite thing about Bakers, everyone likes to get together and there’s a nice vibe. The Coastal Crusade from Eastbourne to Brighton was a highlight for me, I have never been to there before and the hills were breath-taking. It was a magical experience.”
Lola
“I attended the Bakers Apprenticeship Open Day in July 2024 and started my Business Administration apprenticeship in September 2024. My main tasks include making sure our BakPac orders are despatched on time, breaking down the paperwork so that planning can work efficiently, handling the red folders which hold key information of each order, sending customer samples and answering the phones to handle customer queries or directing them to the relevant person. I’d like to say I keep the morale high in the office too, my singing is great.
My favourite thing about Bakers is definitely the company socials, particularly the Paws in Work day and our Coastal Crusade from Eastbourne to Brighton.
My time at Bakers has been challenging but in a good way, I have been pushed out of my comfort zone and supported on the journey with that. It is an enjoyable environment to work in.”
Charlotte
“As a despatch coordinator, I make sure orders are being shipped to the right places, order same day delivery vans, track deliveries and book international deliveries. I also communicate with both Labels and Materials customers and have recently been covering Materials orders to expand my knowledge further.
Since working at Bakers, I have become more independent and confident as a person. Handling difficult tasks under time pressure is something I can do confidently as well as constantly adapting my communication skills with both internal and external stakeholders. The apprenticeship has given me an insight into other departments and how I can improve my day-to-day tasks.
Working at Bakers has helped develop my time management skills, organisation skills and become more confident in myself and the work I produce.
The best thing about Bakers is definitely the social events and the people. I have made some really good friends and been given more responsibility since being here. It’s great to be relied on and supported.”
Rokas
“My role has adapted a lot since I started. As a print operative I print jobs on the Indigo as well as maintaining the press, checking scaling, colour matching, checking text and making sure the right material is on the right job.
Learning about the different aspects of printing labels has been really enjoyable and no two days are the same. It can be stressful but is also very rewarding.
Since working at Bakers, I have improved on my communication, time management and professionalism and I suppose it has made me tidier too. My team is very lively, and I can rely on them.”
This year the theme of Apprenticeship Week is ‘Skills for Life’.
The BPIF (British Printing Industries Federation) is the UK’s leading trade association for print. Their vision means they provide bespoke business support to the UK print industry, as well as champion the future of British Print. Offering training, development, professional service and more. The BPIF are a great support to our apprentices and us as a whole.