Helping Shropshire's next generation take their first steps into work

A marketing apprenticeship, an engineering placement and a university internship are giving young people experience across Wenlock Spring. Meet Charlie, Rhys and Kaitlyn, and find out how we support learning on site, introduce students to manufacturing and help aspiring chefs put their skills into practice as they begin their careers.

At Wenlock Spring, we give young people opportunities to learn, contribute and build confidence through practical experience in a working business. From our bottling lines to marketing campaigns, engineering projects and sales analysis, there are many ways to take those first steps into a career here in Shropshire.

We offer apprenticeships, internships and engineering work experience placements, with opportunities to develop skills alongside experienced colleagues. Young people also support our production and warehouse teams with bottling lines and day-to-day operations, and some have completed certified forklift training.

Charlie Ralphs is completing a Multi-Channel Marketing Apprenticeship with us. His work covers content creation, social media, campaigns, events and promotional activity, giving him experience of live projects and the different ways we communicate with customers and partners.

Rhys Page first joined us on an engineering work experience placement while studying for a T Level in Mechanical Engineering at Shrewsbury College. After impressing the team, he moved into a paid part-time summer role. He has already helped produce a component for one of our crown capping machines, putting his engineering studies to use on equipment in our bottling operation.

We also welcomed Kaitlyn Orme through the University of Bristol's SME Internship Scheme for 2026. Working across finance and marketing, she has been analysing sales data and market trends, identifying potential opportunities and helping to keep product information accurate for customers and business partners.

As our Director, Matthew Orme, explains: “Local businesses have an important role to play in helping young people take their first steps into work. These opportunities can build confidence, develop practical skills and show how someone’s interests or studies could translate into a future career. Manufacturing offers far more variety than many people realise, and by opening our doors we can give young people a clearer view of the different routes available across production, engineering, logistics, marketing, finance and data analysis.”

Opening our doors to students is another way we help young people understand what manufacturing involves. Lower Sixth A-level Design and Technology students from Shrewsbury School toured our site, seeing blow-moulding and stretch-moulding processes in operation. They also learned about temperature control, preventative maintenance, quality checks, safety and waste reduction.

Our support for people starting their careers extends into hospitality too. We supported the Zest Quest Asia 2026 gala dinner, which celebrates aspiring student chefs and saw The Sheffield College named the 2026 champion.

Through our longstanding relationship with the Craft Guild of Chefs, we also sponsored the Wenlock Spring Tempura Challenge at the 2026 British Culinary Championships. The live competition gave developing chefs the chance to cook using Wenlock Spring water and was won by a City of Liverpool College student.

Whether someone is exploring engineering, marketing, finance or a career in the kitchen, the chance to put learning into practice matters. Matthew adds: “Whatever path a young person is considering, they need opportunities to test their skills, learn from experienced people and build confidence. Supporting them at the start of their careers helps develop the talent that businesses and communities will need in the future.”