Career Options as a Procurement Apprentice
There are many exciting career opportunities in procurement! The Commercial Apprenticeship in Procurement & Supply is a 24-month work-based apprenticeship programme designed to give you the knowledge, skills and work-related behaviours necessary to succeed in a procurement career.
Our apprenticeship programme introduces you to a wide range of commercial skills needed for all aspects of the procurement life cycle. This includes:
Analysing supply markets and potential suppliers for their suitability;
Developing effective specifications of requirements to be sourced from suppliers;
Designing and executing a competitive sourcing process;
Negotiating and contracting with different types of supplier;
Ensuring ethical and responsible considerations are taken throughout all supply chain activities;
Managing the contract with suppliers to get the most value from those supplier relationships;
Managing the inventory control processes of any subsequent goods that are ordered.
A recent salary survey conducted by the UK Government (April 2024) has confirmed that procurement apprenticeships generate some of the fastest-growing careers and salary advances. You can read more about this in our study blog:
Here are some examples of the types of procurement role the Commercial Apprenticeship could lead you to:
sourcing manager
Damian is a Sourcing Manager for a well-known national retailer. He supports procurement activities for buying “Goods for Re-sale”. These goods need to be sourced from ethical suppliers who produce high quality products at reasonable prices. Damian loves the dynamic ‘buzz’ of finding new suppliers and putting contracts in with them.
contract negotiator
Sheryl is a Contract Negotiator for a large facilities management provider. She negotiates contracts across a panel of subcontractors who provide her clients with property services, such as building maintenance, security, cleaning, catering and office support. Sheryl enjoys the variety of workload and forming positive relationships with suppliers.
commercial officer
Josef works for the UK Government as a Procurement Officer. He is currently supporting the procurement of a complex multi-million IT security contract. As a civil servant, Josef needs to ensure public accountability for all of the procurement decisions. He will guide his organisation through the public procurement tendering processes and ensure regulatory compliance and value-for-money are achieved.
data analyst
Stefanos works as a Data Analyst for an international bank. He supports commercial activities by providing data analysis on suppliers, prices and supply markets so that commercial strategies can be developed. His employer has offices all over the world and he has recently applied for a posting in Singapore to support the bank’s expansion plans in that region.
supplier relationship manager
Angela works for a food manufacturer that exports branded products all round the world. Recently the manufacturer has wanted to develop closer and more collaborative relationships with its major suppliers. Angela has been recruited as a Supplier Relationship Manager to develop innovation across the supply chain.
warehouse supervisor
Sonja is a Warehouse Supervisor for a construction company. She manages the company’s warehouse management system and helps with inventory control and stock levels for various construction contracts. One of her recent challenges has been supply chain shortages, but since she has been in the post the company has not suffered a single stock-out.
If you would like more information or guidance on potential career opportunities that a procurement apprenticeship could offer you, please get in touch using the contact form below.