Airy rolls, juicy ground beef and melt-in-your-mouth cheese - that's what makes a good burger. Do you love good food, but are just as fascinated by the many ready-made meals you've had at one time or another? Then it should come as no surprise that good burgers are now also available in cans. Would you like to be part of the food industry and actively contribute to the development of new ideas? Then you need to train to become a food technology specialist. Just imagine that you create "good taste" every day. That's what being a food technology specialist is all about.

How does the food technology specialist training work?

As a food technology specialist, you will work in factories that produce products. Since you produce something for a wide variety of product groups depending on the company, it never gets boring in this profession. Take charge of your future now and develop your own recipe for success. Training to become a food technology specialist is something for everyone who wants to experience something new every day. You have the opportunity to be creative and turn your idea into a real product. For example, you can design a package for a consumer product. During your apprenticeship as a food technology specialist, you will learn how to make food and ready meals from raw materials. Of course, you don't start cooking or baking yourself now, everything runs on machines and systems. You are responsible for testing, analysing and labelling the different substances. And of course to produce a suitable recipe that can be poured into the machines.

The training to become a food technology specialist takes three years. During this time you will learn all about food and its ingredients. Since you also have to use machines in this profession, you will of course also be trained for these tasks. You are involved in the production from the receipt of raw materials to the finished product packed in all stations. Sounds pretty interesting, doesn't it? Let's see how the sausage is so carefully packed or the yoghurt is always filled so evenly.

What do you do in your apprenticeship as a food technology specialist?

You receive raw materials or semi-finished products and check them, after which you either pass them on to the warehouse or directly to processing. During the entire process, you are responsible for ensuring that everything is in order with the raw materials, that the necessary ingredients are supplied for further processing and that the machines are correctly configured. During production, you monitor everything and check the finished products. Of course, the quality of the products must also be tested, and you can try it out from time to time. As you can see, you have been given a lot of responsibility, not least because the food industry is one of the most important for us.

As part of your apprenticeship as a food technology specialist, you will work either in fish, meat or fruit and vegetable processing companies, in large industrial bakeries, in dairy companies, in the industrial production of, for example, sweets or baby food or in coffee roasters. Depending on your interests, you can choose the field in which you want to train. Of course, after your apprenticeship you can also work in other areas.

What qualifications do I need?

What do you need to know or be able to do to train as a food technology specialist? In principle, you don't have to be able to do anything at first, as you are training to learn step by step. However, due to hygiene regulations and food legislation, it is essential that you are always very careful and have a high sense of responsibility. Knowledge of mathematics and chemistry is not bad either, as you will encounter both subjects again and again during your training. It is important that you can identify chemical reactions and understand numbers. A special school leaving certificate is not necessary, even with a high school leaving certificate it is possible to get a training position as a food technology specialist. In practice, however, high school graduates are more often employed.