If bringing your love of food into the lives of others sounds like a career you’d like to explore, then a Level 2 Baker apprenticeship might be the route for you. With this apprenticeship, you’ll gain the foundational skills you need to begin a career in the industry. On the other hand, If you are interested in cooking rather than baking, we suggest looking at the Level 2 Commis Chef Apprenticeship. Apprentice Tips will help you find an apprenticeship that’s right for you.
Entry Criteria
As someone who is looking to become an apprentice baker, you must have basic mathematics and English skills (Functional Skills Level 2). You may also be required to pass a workplace suitability assessment before you begin to ensure that you can operate safely in a kitchen.
Key Responsibilities of a Baker Apprentice
Over the course of 18 months, you’ll be problem solving; figuring out how to formulate recipes and learning the correct way to document and label your bakes for compliance purposes. At its core, the general Baker standard requires you to be able to produce consumer safe products in a hygienic environment and with the appropriate labelling. Whilst completing your Level 2 Baker apprenticeship, you will be able to choose from three potential specialisms to be assessed against. These are:
- Craft Baker
- The variety of bakery products you have to produce increases. This could include things like enriched loaves, pastries, or confectionaries. You’ll also be expected to scale your recipes up or down as appropriate and take extra care over the finishing of your products.
- Plant Baker (Otherwise known as Processing Plant Baker)
- Not plant-based baking. This branch is all about the automation of the baking process and working on an industrial scale. Quality and production checks will also make up a large part of your role.
- Retail Baker
- A more customer service-focused role with an emphasis on the displaying of goods and replenishment of stock.
What will the Working Environment Be Like?
Bakers work unsociable hours as a part of their standard shift pattern due to the nature of the work that they do and the service they provide to customers. This is something you should be completely willing to do if you are considering becoming a Baker. You should also expect your work to be physically demanding at any given time. Naturally, you have to be able to work well with other bakers and other staff members within your place of work. However, there will also be times when you are expected to work independently. It is important that you are able to manage your time effectively.
Career Progression
On completion of your Level 2 Baker apprenticeship, you could expect to be earning around £19,000. Following successful completion of your qualification, you will be able to perform jobs typically titled the following:
- Baker
- Baking Operative
- Confectioner
- In-Store Baker
Progressive apprenticeship routes at Level 3 for Bakers are currently in development in the UK. However, positions as a Pastry Chef or even a Lead Baker may be available to you.
Summary
There are plenty of possibilities for you to explore where your career might lead. You’ll gain the necessary skills to establish your craft and explore the area(s) you might like to specialise in. Now is as good a time as any to enter an industry worth almost £4.4 billion.
Here at Apprentice Tips we want to make discovering the types of apprenticeships available across the UK. We hope that this article has taken you one step closer to discovering the right career path for you. Find out more by signing up to the newsletter on our website.