Summary
Kent Scientific Services is recruiting a Laboratory Assistant to work in its Analytical lab, working in our food & consumer products teams. The post involves analysing & supporting the analysis of a variety of samples, including food, animal feed & consumer products in support of various law enforcement bodies.
Wage
£18,000 a year
Starting salary of £18,000 per annum which is equivalent to £9.33 per hour. Upon successful completion of the probation period, your salary will increase to £23,337 per annum.
Training course
Laboratory scientist (degree) (level 6)
Hours
Exact working days and hours TBC. The course is based on day release and lasts four years. Commitment to this length of study is vital. Whilst we fully support the academic part of this role, some study in your own time will be expected.
37 hours a week
Possible start date
Tuesday 1 April
Duration
4 years
Positions available
1
Work
As an apprentice, you’ll work at a company and get hands-on experience. You’ll gain new skills and work alongside experienced staff.
What you’ll do at work
* Undertake appropriate course of study
* Undertake sample preparation
* Monitor and maintain stock levels of consumable items
* Perform routine maintenance tasks in the laboratory (replacement of instrument filters, for example)
* Help maintain cleanliness in the laboratory
* Maintain a supply of clean dry glassware by hand washing and by use of the laboratory washing machines
* Undertake the collection and redistribution of Kent Scientific Services staff laundry
* Undertake appropriate laboratory analysis following all required practices and procedures
* Dispose of completed samples
* Carry out sample collection and delivery and other driving as required using Kent Scientific Service vehicles
Where you’ll work
8 Abbey Wood Road
Kings Hill
West Malling
ME19 4YT
Training
An apprenticeship includes regular training with a college or other training organisation. At least 20% of your working hours will be spent training or studying.
College or training organisation
UNIVERSITY OF GREENWICH
Your training course
Laboratory scientist (degree) (level 6)
Equal to degree
Course contents
* Identify and use the scientific approaches appropriate to one specialist discipline required to solve problems, support new investigations and follow-up experiments in the laboratory.
* Appraise scientific experimentation, independently design and implement new processes according to relevant literature and other data sources interrogated using data mining techniques and input from colleagues.
* Support appraisal of scientific experimentation with numerical and statistical analysis.
* Work autonomously to analyse, interpret and evaluate scientific data and present the results of laboratory work and problem solving clearly and concisely in written and oral form.
* Comply with regulations including compliance with business rules pertaining to record keeping, data integrity, traceability & confidentiality.
* Promote and ensure the application of quality standards, safe working practices and compliance with risk management systems relevant to the workplace in own work and the work of others.
* Use creative thinking and problem solving techniques such as root cause analysis, to challenge assumptions, innovate, make new proposals and build on existing ideas.
* Autonomously plan and prioritise tasks, review and evaluate progress against objectives and investigate alternative scenarios.
* Contribute to the development of specific technical projects across multi-disciplinary teams.
* Ensure that targets are met and maintained, within own area of responsibility, whilst complying with defined company procedures and legislative requirements.
* Lead continuous performance improvement within the scientific and technical environment using process mapping & analysis and root cause analysis that is informed by other appropriate principles, such as lean, six sigma, project and change management.
Your training plan
Laboratory Scientist (degree) Level 6.
Kent Scientific Services, a department within Kent County Council, is recruiting an apprentice Laboratory Assistant to work in its Analytical laboratory at Kings Hill, West Malling in Kent.
Requirements
Essential qualifications
GCSE in:
* English (grade 4 or above)
* Mathematics (grade 4 or above)
Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.
Skills
* Organisation skills
* Problem solving skills
* Analytical skills
* Logical
* Team working
* Initiative