Apprenticeships aren’t just for school leavers. How Muntons is creating the leaders of the future with its apprenticeship scheme.

Muntons has been running its current apprenticeship scheme, better known as the management trainee programme with the West Suffolk College, since 2017.

Ellie Smith, who’s been with Muntons for 11 years, is currently completing her Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Level 5 Operations and Departmental Management course and talks about her apprenticeship experience:

“I joined Muntons in January 2008 as a part-time receptionist and once my girls were a little older, I moved into a fulltime administrative role within our craft beer and wine department. This position gave me a good grounding and enabled me to learn more about the company and its products.

My next position was then in the customer service department where I continued my learning journey and worked with many of our overseas accounts. It was while working in the customer service team that I found that I wanted to learn more and when the opportunity arose to apply for a management trainee position, and in 2019 I started the programme and I haven’t looked back since.

University wasn’t on the cards for me, because I started my family when I was quite young. So, this was a chance for me to further my knowledge, broaden my understanding and gain a qualification at the end of the programme.”

The apprentices on Muntons’ programme follow the ILM curriculum, which is a nationally recognised management qualification. All ILM are supported by the West Suffolk College and the awards are given by The City and Guilds of London Institute. As part of the programme, those on the course gain valuable experience by working in all areas of the business.

Ellie continues: “Thanks to this course, I’ve been able to spend time in procurement and production, and I’m now currently working in HR.

I have the most understanding and encouraging tutor at the West Suffolk College, who I am in regular contact with, even during lockdown. She is incredibly supportive and I’m grateful to have her cheering me on, alongside the team at work.

Muntons is incredibly supportive and really does help us to get the best out of our role and ILM course. As an apprentice who’s training to become a manager, I’m given opportunities to apply my learnings within the business and not just the coursework.

I look forward to using everything I’ve learnt along the way and become a successful manager within the company. I’d certainly recommend furthering your career by taking up an apprenticeship; being paid to learn on the job is an excellent opportunity and one that I’m pleased I took up.”

As we wrap up our 99^th year, we wanted to take some time to not only reflect on the achievements we’ve made and the obstacles we’ve faced, but also offer our gratitude and thanks to our customers.

We know this has been a very tough year for many businesses throughout the industries that we support. However, if it weren’t for you, our customers, we wouldn’t be about to embark on our centenary and we’re grateful for your loyalty and excited for our future together.

So, it goes without saying, but thank you!

Thanks to:
James Robinson, Eclipse Aerial Photography - Drone Footage
Tim Simpson Photography

Muntons, the UK’s leading malt product manufacturer and distributor, is set to slash its carbon emissions by 23,545 tonnes per year in an exciting new partnership which will see a 14MW biomass boiler installed at its Stowmarket site.

The project is being led by AMP Clean Energy which will operate the energy and steam supply under an Energy Supply Agreement to Muntons for its manufacturing process. Working in partnership with AMP Clean Energy on the project is Vital Energi, to deliver an optimised design and has been appointed as the Principal Contractor on the £16.5m project.

Mark Tyldesley, Group Managing Director at Muntons, said: “Muntons is recognised as a leader in sustainability projects throughout the industry. Through our focus on carbon reduction we have already cut greenhouse gas emissions by a quarter over the past ten years, exceeding our climate change agreement target.”

He continued: “The headline Science Based Target (SBT) for manufacturing is to reduce carbon emissions by 87% by 2050. Our Director of Technical and Sustainability, Dr Nigel Davies, has led our systematic approach to carbon reduction as part of our sustainability strategy and we have taken early action long before the SBT were introduced.

“Our emissions reduction journey before 2010 is recognised as contributing to our SBT and our target is to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 45% by 2025 from a 2010 baseline, together with a 30% reduction in scope 3. Crucial to us hitting this target is installing biomass heating at both of our UK malting sites. Working collaboratively with specialists AMP Clean Energy continue to deliver on our mantra of ‘Practical Sustainability’.”

Richard Burrell, CEO of AMP Clean Energy, said: “This is a major low-carbon project that will deliver significant sustainability benefits for Muntons. Muntons is a true sustainability leader in the food and drink sector and the use of biomass heat is central to its ability to hit its science-based target. It is fantastic that such a major project will come on-line next April, and we are proud to work with trailblazers like Muntons which will assist the UK’s net zero transition.”

Regional Director for Vital Energi, Mike Cooke explains, “This project is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate how decarbonisation can be made feasible. We worked in partnership with Muntons and AMP Clean Energy to develop a scheme which would maximise both carbon reductions and projects economics, with the result being a reduction in emissions of over 470,000 tonnes over the course of the 20-year contract.

“The food and drink industry is a huge consumer of energy and we believe this partnership is a great example of how manufacturers can decarbonise their processes whilst improving their bottom line.”

When complete, the energy solution will provide almost all steam, heat and electricity for Muntons’ Stowmarket site. Work has started on site with commissioning scheduled for mid-2021.

Photo: James Robinson, Eclipse Aerial Photography

Muntons, one of the country’s leading supplier of brewing and distilling malts and malted ingredients has kicked off a working from home wellbeing programme. The maltster, which is based in Stowmarket and has sites in Bridlington, the USA and Thailand, is encouraging team members to take time away from their screens by rolling out a scheme which includes a variety of tea breaks, such as ten-minute yoga and wellbeing sessions. Employees have also had a lunch hour blocked out in their Outlook diaries, to prevent meetings being scheduled across that hour.

Led by the company’s work from home committee, team members are also invited to socialise with their colleagues by taking part in post work drinks on Wednesdays, cooking lessons and a Christmas quiz next month.

Many studies prove the importance of breaks during the working day and the positive impact they have on not only productivity but mental and physical health.
Eamonn Sparkes, Muntons’ Head of HR, said: “Like many companies, we didn’t envisage the work from home guidance lasting for so long and we’re conscious that this has meant less social interaction for a lot of us during this time.”

Muntons is particularly aware of how the days are getting shorter with the winter arriving and its Leadership Team hopes that its employees who are working from home all day, can get out and be active while it is still light.

Eamonn continues: “While we’re not making these events or the full hour-long break mandatory, we are asking that everybody makes sure they don’t sit in the same position, facing their screens all day, every day.”

Priding itself on being an employer where teams enjoy themselves, Muntons has a low employee turnover, with the average time a colleague stays with the maltster being 11 years. It isn’t unheard of for employees to work for the business for decades either, with colleagues still working for Muntons for 30, 40 and even 50 years.

Eamonn ends with: “We’re finding our new virtual socials and sessions are encouraging cross-departmental conversations, which have been sorely missed. That quick chat on the corridor or at the water cooler about last night’s TV seem like a thing of the past, so it’s wonderful to see people socialising once again.”

Photo: Richard Platt, Senior New Product Development Technologist, is the host of “Come Bake with Me” this month.
Copyright: Tim Simpson Photography