Build your technical expertise. Deliver exceptional quality. This is an exciting 12-month 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.
You’ll start with an induction to the Food Technology team. Then, spend two weeks in one of our stores, building an understanding of our business and how customer needs shape everything we do. You’ll also see how we deliver the high standards we’re known for.
After this, you’ll spend the rest of your first six months tackling live projects in technical areas including food safety, supplier management and innovation. From there, you’ll complete your final six-months working with one of our top-rate suppliers to amplify your experience within Food Technology and step up your knowledge of the full supply chain.
What it takes to succeed
A curiosity for how things work. A genuine enthusiasm for the products we make. These are the skills that will see you making the most of this one-of-a-kind experience.
This role carries real responsibility to ensure the consistent quality and safety our customers expect from us. So, you’ll need an eye for detail and the confidence to speak up and ask questions. Alongside that, an ability to communicate clearly, collaborate across teams and stay focused under pressure.
Where it could lead
This placement is designed for experts in the making, helping to elevate your skills and put you on the path to a Food Industry career with big impact. Once you graduate, you can re-join M&S on a graduate programme. Then, over time, advance into roles where you’ll be shaping product quality, influencing product innovation or setting strategy for entire food categories.
Why choose M&S Food?
Our food is not just any food.
We've built our reputation on quality, value and innovation, creating products that excite people. And it shows, with over 32 million customers and new stores continuing to open across the nation. This doesn’t happen without our Food Technologists, helping us reinvent the UK’s favourite foods and bring our customers new flavours.
Our five-year vision is to reshape retail for the future and as a future leader of our Food business, you could play an important role in this transformation.
The reason I love it so much is because the things I do feel like they’re actually making an impact. You get the opportunity to present to people who really value your opinion, and it’s nice seeing the work you do being put into play, especially when you’re making a difference for your store colleagues.
I’m encouraged to soak up and learn as much as possible and I’m given the freedom to guide my own learning and be curious about all aspects of the business. From structured personal development workshops to shadowing colleagues from across the Food team or our suppliers, I’m learning new things every day.
I like seeing the bigger picture, understanding how everything works, and then finding ways to improve it. What I really appreciate about the M&S graduate scheme is that I get to learn something new, become the expert in it, and then build on that knowledge in the next challenge – like looking at how we can grow our Foods business.
Wherever your ambitions lie within M&S Food, we’ll help you get there with structured learning and development, coaching and career mapping.
After your placement and graduation, this is the kind of career path you could take.
Graduate Food Technologist
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 placements to give you a rich, rounded experience across Food Technology with structured training and a clear development pathway towards a permanent Food Technology role at M&S.
Food Technologist
After three 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 food products.
Senior Food Technologist
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.
Category Technical Manager
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.
Head of Food Technology
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.
Being an in-person business
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.
Learning & support
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.
Benefits
Wellbeing hub
Get access to resources to support your wellbeing, including a free virtual GP service.
Giving back
Support your favourite charities by donating through your pay or even volunteering for them.
Pay
Earn a competitive salary.
Colleague discount
After completing your probation period, you'll receive 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
Please note only contracts of more than 12 weeks are eligible for this benefit.
Time off
Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days.
Life assurance
Get cover for twice your salary up to age 70 (double with our Pension Plan).
Workplace savings
We’ll help you save through our Pension Savings Plan, Share Buy and Sharesave schemes.
My Choices
Save on everyday costs through discounts and offers and get access to great health benefits.
Cycle to work
Bike/accessory hire with Cycle to Work and save on tax and national insurance.
Smart tech
Buy the latest technology with interest-free financing directly from your salary.
Wellbeing hub
Get access to resources to support your wellbeing, including a free virtual GP service.
Giving back
Support your favourite charities by donating through your pay or even volunteering for them.
Pay
Earn a competitive salary.
Colleague discount
After completing your probation period, you'll receive 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
Please note only contracts of more than 12 weeks are eligible for this benefit.
Time off
Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days.
Life assurance
Get cover for twice your salary up to age 70 (double with our Pension Plan).
Workplace savings
We’ll help you save through our Pension Savings Plan, Share Buy and Sharesave schemes.
My Choices
Save on everyday costs through discounts and offers and get access to great health benefits.
Cycle to work
Bike/accessory hire with Cycle to Work and save on tax and national insurance.
Smart tech
Buy the latest technology with interest-free financing directly from your salary.
Get application ready by exploring more aboutour programmes and connect with M&S Buddies on our dedicated Life@M&S platform.
We want you to feel supported throughout the assessment process. If you need a reasonable adjustment, just let us know and we’ll do everything we can to support you.
Eligibility Criteria
You must have the right to work in the UK for the full duration of the programme
You will be in at least your second year of studying for a Food Science, Nutrition or Food-related degree
Application Form
Your first step will be to complete our online application form. You can only apply to one programme per annual recruitment cycle, and we’d encourage you to choose the one that feels like the best fit for you.
We close our vacancies on a rolling basis and closing dates can change. We recommend submitting your application as soon as possible.
Online Assessment
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.
Assessment Centre
If your online assessment is successful, you’ll be invited to an in-person Assessment Centre. The recruitment process for store-based roles will also include an opportunity to attend your final interview in one of our stores.
You can find out more detailed information about our assessment process on Life@M&S.
