wienerberger future finance leaders: meet our finance apprentices who support the running of our factories

A spotlight on wienerberger’s finance apprentices, exploring their work-scope and how their financial insight drives better decisionmaking and keeps our factory operations running at its best. 

At wienerberger, we are committed to nurturing young talents and giving them the opportunity to learn the foundations of our financial operations. Just as our engineering apprenticeships focus on machinery and the operational side of the business, our finance apprentices work behind the scenes to support the smooth running of our factories, and this year, we welcomed four new finance apprentices in line with our 'Building for what’s next’ strategy. 

To mark National Apprenticeship Week 2026, (Monday 9th to Sunday 15th February), we sat down with our finance apprentices at our Cheadle Office to hear about their apprenticeship experiences, and this is their story.  

Supporting our factories 

For Finance Apprentice Sana Azad, her priority was choosing the right organisation to pursue an apprenticeship where she could gain hands-on experience, develop professionally, and see how her academic background and skills in finance can directly support the wider business.  Commenting on her journey, she says; 

“wienerberger really stood out because of its strong reputation in manufacturing and construction, and the emphasis it places on developing people through structured apprenticeships. I was particularly drawn to the finance team, as it offers the opportunity to be closely involved in decision making and operational performance. My goal is to become a fully qualified Management Accountant during my time at wienerberger, while continuing to develop my technical and commercial understanding within factory controlling.” 

Factory controlling is a particularly interesting part of the business because you’re not just working with numbers in isolation, you’re helping teams understand costs, efficiency, and performance across each site. It feels like the ideal environment to apply my academic knowledge while continuing to learn in a practical, fast-paced setting. Knowing that I’m constantly learning and developing while contributing to the success of a factory is what motivates me and makes me excited to open my laptop each morning.” 

– Sana Azad, Finance Apprentice at wienerberger UK.   

Transitioning from Customer Service to Finance  

Abbie Holbrook, a Finance Apprentice, first joined the organisation in August 2024 as a customer service operator. She wanted professional growth within the organization that involved strategic planning in more complex projects, and that motivated her to move from customer service to finance through the apprenticeship programme.    

“During my transitioning from customer service to finance, I did some transitional weeks between my old role and my new role, to make the switch more seamless. I did lots of research about the apprenticeship and spoke to some other apprentices to get their insights on what the wienerberger apprenticeship programme looked like.   

Their feedback was exciting and after I applied for the apprenticeship, I spent plenty of time preparing for the interview. I completed a lot of Excel courses, learnt how to use SAP software, and reporting, and also watched several YouTube videos to understand basic finance terms. My apprenticeship includes taking the CIMA course with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and this is helpful to further my education to eventually become a Chartered Accountant.”

- Abbie Holbrook, Finance Apprentice at wienerberger UK & Ireland.   

From Degree to Apprenticeship    

Rizwaanah Patel, Finance Apprentice, holds a first-class degree in Accounting and Finance, along with a full year placement experience. She was inspired to pursue an apprenticeship at wienerberger because the role offers a rotational placement across three Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) departments.  

According to Rizwaanah, the structure of the programme really stood out to her, as it provides the opportunity to gain a well-rounded understanding of finance while developing experience in multiple areas of the business.   

“Joining the finance apprenticeship team at wienerberger was a natural next step for me, considering my background in finance. Throughout my degree and placement, I developed both technical and interpersonal skills which I am now able to apply into my apprenticeship at wienerberger. Each day at work is unique and I’m genuinely happy to contribute to projects, support my team, maintain professionalism, and deliver high quality work that adds value to the business.” 

– Rizwaanah Patel, Finance Apprentice at wienerberger UK.  

Improving Tech Skills in Finance

Also coming from a finance background, Robert Adams, Finance Apprentice was inspired to pursue an apprenticeship at wienerberger because he wanted to improve his technical and practical skills at a large-scale global company, whilst also gaining experience across a range of business functions.   

“I specifically wanted to join the finance team, as I've previously worked in finance and really enjoyed it. Prior to joining wienerberger, I studied Economics at the University of Liverpool and have gained some work experiences.  So far, I'm really enjoying my apprenticeship at wienerberger and the rotational structure of the scheme is very rewarding.” 

– Robert Adams, Finance Apprentice at wienerberger UK & Ireland.   

If  you’re interested in exploring a finance apprenticeship, or any of our other office based early career opportunities, we encourage you to keep an eye on our careers page for future openings.  

“We aim to backfill available roles with finance apprentices as part of our longterm resilience planning, and it’s an investment that pays off as most of our apprentices choose to stay with us once they are qualified. Because each apprenticeship leads into a permanent fulltime role, we only recruit when there is a vacancy to fill or when the business requires additional support.”

– Robert Leake, Factory Controller, wienerberger UK. 

If you are interested in an engineering apprenticeship, we currently have openings in 7 sites across the UK, and the application deadline is Friday, 27th February 2026. 

Happy National Apprenticeship Week, from all of us at wienerberger UK & Ireland.