Top 50 SME Apprenticeship Employer

MCFT has been named the Number One SME Apprenticeship Employer in the UK for 2025. Awarded by the Department for Education in partnership with Rate My Apprenticeship, recognises outstanding commitment to apprenticeships, based not only on scale but crucially, on apprentice satisfaction, development, and long-term support.

“Being named the number one SME employer of apprentices by the Department for Education, is a tremendous honour and reflects our commitment to tackling the current and future skills shortage in commercial catering and refrigeration engineering.”

Chris Craggs – MCFT Founder

The achievement reflects MCFT’s deeply rooted belief in “growing our own” talent. From day one, apprentices are seen not just as learners but as professionals and valued contributors to the business. The company’s state-of-the-art Technical Academy is a cornerstone of this approach, delivering practical, hands-on training for catering and refrigeration engineers, via a team of dedicated in-house trainers who themselves are continuously supported and developed.

Currently, apprentices make up a large portion of MCFT’s workforce, with nearly half of the engineering team having joined through the apprenticeship route. In addition to over 70 field-based apprentices, MCFT also supports self-funded learners through City & Guilds assured programmes, office-based apprentices across multiple departments, and interns from both the UK and the Netherlands. The company also hosts graduate and intern placements, reflecting its wider commitment to early career development at every level.

What truly set MCFT apart in this year’s award process was the voice of its apprentices. For the first time, the Department for Education placed a stronger emphasis on learner feedback, using genuine, learner reviews submitted via Rate My Apprenticeship to assess quality and impact. MCFT received the highest number of reviews of any SME and was consistently praised for its inclusive, supportive culture, its clear earn-as-you-learn ethos, and the way trainers, mentors, and wider teams invest in each apprentice’s success.

Apprentices described learning new skills daily, being stretched and supported in equal measure, and having access to a range of people across the business who champion their progress. Whether it’s field coaches, academy instructors, or head office colleagues, MCFT has built an environment where learning is embedded into every aspect of working life.

That success, says Samantha Davies – MCFT Head of Training and Development, is the result of a whole-business commitment. “This recognition is due to our holistic, whole-business commitment to apprenticeship success, from our sales team focused on delivering apprentice appropriate work, and the field team integrating training within their daily processes, to procurement and HR – it is about the mindset of the whole of the whole organisation and the team effort to make this work."

The company has also made it a priority to challenge outdated industry perceptions by actively encouraging more women into engineering roles and creating inclusive routes into the business for people from all backgrounds. This approach reflects MCFT’s long-term view of investing in people today to ensure the sector has the talent it needs tomorrow.

With a state-of-the-art national training facility, a dedicated and growing team of internal trainers, and a passion for hands-on learning, MCFT is proving that apprenticeships, when done right can deliver both business success and lasting impact.