#INDUSTRIAL PLACEMENT PROGRAMME
Build your technical expertise. Deliver exceptional quality. This is an exciting industrial placement in the industry-leading M&S Food team. Learn how we ensure the quality, safety and standards that M&S products are known for.
Salary starting from £27,000
Closing Date: 09/11/2025
Apply now
Build your technical expertise. Deliver exceptional quality. This is an exciting industrial placement in the industry-leading M&S Food team. Learn how we ensure the quality, safety and standards that M&S products are known for.
Discover more about what to expect on your Food Technology Industrial Placement, which skills can help you succeed and your career options after the placement ends.
This is a very competitive programme, so we may close applications earlier than advertised.
Growing responsibility. Project leadership. Influential ideas. Wherever your ambitions lie within the M&S Food business, we’ll help you get there with structured learning and development, coaching and career mapping.
Here are some examples of the kinds of career path you could take after you finish the placement.
If your placement goes well, there may be the opportunity to return to M&S on our graduate programme, after you finish studying. You will complete a range of rotational placements to give you rich, rounded experiences across Food Technology, with structured training and a clear development pathway towards a permanent Food Technology role at M&S.
After 3 years on our Graduate Programme, our aim is to progress you into a Food Technologist role, where you’ll be responsible for ensuring the safety, quality, and innovation of our food products.
After a few years gaining critical skills and valuable experience, we can support your promotion to a more senior role, as you take on more responsibility across the Food Technology team.
As you progress further, you could become a Category Technical Manager where you will lead a team of Food Technologists, ensuring the safety, quality and legality of our products within a specific food category.
We have big ambitions for you, so if you’re looking for a senior leadership role in your career, we’ll support you to make it happen. And one day, you could be at the head of the Food Technology team.
We're at our best when we're close to customers, and for many of us at M&S, that means working in store every day.
To stay close to customers, our support teams are in the office three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected. It also means we can solve problems as soon as they arise, learn and grow as a team, build trust, and get closer to our colleagues.
Your development is our priority at M&S. We’re committed to helping you grow and aim higher every day. You’ll benefit from a structured programme that includes mentoring, on-the-job training, and opportunities to solve real challenges. This hands-on experience will be instrumental in building a long-term career in the Food industry.
We believe in being bold and ambitious, so if we see that you can reach your potential faster, we’ll provide the tools and opportunities to make it happen. However, the person who will drive this development is you. With our support, we want you to own and take charge of your growth. Your proactive approach and commitment to learning will be key to your success.
We’ll provide reasonable adjustments during the assessment process. Just tell us what you need, and we’ll do everything we can to accommodate you.
It’s essential that you have an enthusiasm about food and M&S products, and a curiosity about how the food industry works. You’ll also be ready to get hands-on and be accountable for your actions. Key skills we look for include communicating clearly, working well with others, learning quickly and managing your own time.
You must also:
Your first step will be to complete our online application form and tell us more about who you are and why you want to work with us.
You can only apply to one graduate or school leaver programme during this recruitment cycle that starts in September 2026.
We close our vacancies on a rolling basis and closing dates may be subject to change. We encourage you to submit your full application as soon as possible.
We’ll invite you to take part in a two-stage online assessment, where you can find out more about M&S whilst we find out more about you.
If your online assessment is successful, you’ll be invited to an assessment centre alongside your peers. The recruitment process for store-based roles will also include an opportunity to attend your final interview in one of our stores.
