A future in food?

Find out how your business could attract and retain talented individuals by helping to raise the profile of the profession

Date : 18/05/2015

Talent challenge

This June, the Year of Food and Drink looks to the future by focussing on inspiring and developing the skills of young people.

With a food and drink tourism sector worth an estimated £2.5 million a day to the economy and export value on the up, the food and drink industry in Scotland is thriving.

But according to industry-lead campaign Taste Success, the sector will need over 170,000 new recruits by 2020. To achieve sustainable growth, the industry needs to work together to plug the skills gap that has emerged, most notably in manufacturing.

The campaign aims to engage young people with the food and drink industry and raise awareness of the great career prospects it has to offer. It also targets stakeholder groups including teachers, parents and careers advisors to make them aware of sector opportunities and provides teacher packs to help inspire pupils.

Help the industry…and your business

To help meet the recruitment challenge, the Scottish Food and Drink Federation launched a government-funded programme, A Future in Food, to bring businesses and educators together and raise awareness of the career opportunities available.

By teaming up, businesses, pupils, parents and teachers can benefit from learning more about careers in the sector and food production and processes. It also gives young people the opportunity to develop new practical skills, often exposing them to fresh avenues through which to apply their science, technology, engineering and maths skills.

And it’s good news for the businesses involved too. Participation in this kind of programme can not only help promote the industry in general as a desirable career option, but can also help you connect with future employees, support staff development and help identify what consumers want.