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The Jones Village Bakery has announced plans to create 20 new bakery apprenticeships in Wrexham, North Wales.

Managers Tom Breeze (35) and Jac Griffiths (29), along with trainee product developer Tilly Squire (18) are the faces of a campaign to recruit 20 new apprentices at the family business.

With over 800 employees, Jones Village Bakery has a tradition of nurturing talent from within. Many of its bakery managers and supervisors started as school leavers and climbed the career ladder through the company’s ranks.

Tom Breeze, manager of one the company’s bakeries, began his journey with the company at the age of 16.

Reflecting on his experience, he said, I never ever dreamed I would achieve what I have when I first started but I have been on a journey with the company and grown with them. The secret of our success is that we invest in people and we promote from within and we are now trying to find the next batch of talented bakers.”

“Having had the benefit of a brilliant apprenticeship, I want to see others follow in my footsteps and it’s rewarding for me to see people progress and reach their full potential,” said Mr Breeze.

Jac Griffiths, another homegrown success story, now manages the company’s flagship 140,000 square foot bakery on Wrexham Industrial Estate. Starting as an 18-year-old production operative ten years ago, he credits his apprenticeship for propelling his career.

Jac is currently pursuing a part-time business management degree at Wrexham University and the company is sponsoring him to do so.

Commenting on his own experiences at the company, Jac said: “I’m pretty young to be running such a big bakery but the company’s mantra is that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough. The support and the training you get is second to none and age is not a limiting factor. If you show the right attitude there are lots of opportunities to climb the career ladder.”

“There’s been a massive growth in the last four or five years and the only way you can do that sustainably and successfully is by having a crop of talent that’s able to rise up the ranks,” added Mr Griffiths.

Tilly Squire, who joined the company over two years ago at the age of 16, also expressed her gratitude to Jones Village Bakery:

“From day one, I was treated like an adult and paid like an adult thanks to the company’s equal pay for young workers scheme and everyone is very friendly here. Since then, I’ve had some amazing experiences and opportunities, learning craft bakery skills working in different bakeries, making different products.

“My hard work was rewarded with a place on the bakery’s brilliant apprenticeship scheme which led to my current role as part of the New Product Development team.”

According to Robin Jones, Managing Director of Jones Village Bakery, recruiting the next generation of bakers is a great way to celebrate the company’s 90th birthday this year.

“We’re Europe’s fastest growing bakery and we’re not just looking for budding bakers. There are opportunities right across the company; we also need engineers as well as people to work in the commercial and finance departments. There is a mass of opportunity here for the right people.”

“If we find the right candidates, we can take them on the same journey as Jac, Tom and Tilly who are living proof of what we’re all about. We are looking for more people like them to follow in their footsteps.”

You can find out more about working for the company, and check out current vacancies, by visiting the Jones Village Bakery ‘Join Our Team’ page.

And, you can learn all you ‘knead’ to know about getting into this sort of career by taking a look over our guide to Bakery Apprenticeships in the UK.