Attracting talented people to careers in the food and drink industry

The food and drink industry is one of the largest manufacturing sectors and yet, all over the world, companies struggle to attract the best and brightest to consider careers in the industry. In the UK they are trying a new approach by catching them while they are young.

The UK food and drink industry has been selected as one of the key sectors to participate in 'See Inside Manufacturing' - The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) flagship scheme to get factories to open their doors and inspire school children to consider careers in manufacturing.

'See Inside' will begin in June and will involve a variety of food and drink companies hosting a series of factory open days, around the country, to give young people the opportunity to see for themselves some of the exciting careers on offer, whether it be developing a new range of cereals, taste testing ice-cream or creating an advertising campaign for chocolate - there's no shortage of options.

Melanie Leech, the Food and Drink Federation's Director General, said:

“We are delighted that the food and drink industry has been selected as one of the key sectors to be involved in 'See Inside Manufacturing'.

“As part of our 20/20 Vision for Growth, we identified attracting talent as one of the key challenges for our sector if we are to deliver sustainable growth of 20% by 2020. FDF is already taking action to overcome this challenge with our careers campaign 'Taste Success - A Future in Food', which is busting the myths around a career in the food industry.

“Many of our members are already opening their doors to young people. See Inside Manufacturing will build on that work and help many more young people to see a career in food and drink manufacturing as an exciting and smart choice.”