FDBusiness.com

The food and grocery research and training charity, IGD, has announced the launch of a ‘School Pilot’, as part of their successful ‘Feeding Britain’s Future’ campaign which is now in its third year. The pilot will see major food and grocery companies go into schools to offer employability skills training to 13 to 17-year-olds and alert teachers to the variety of skills and opportunities available in the sector.

The initiative, spearheaded by IGD, will launch with new research revealing that Britain’s unemployed believe schools’ advice should be supplemented by major employers to offer information and guidance on the breadth of jobs available plus the range of roles to which their skills might be best suited. Participants felt they did not understand the core skills required to secure employment and even amongst the unemployed with experience, many did not recognise the transferability of their skills.

The research also found that views on the opportunities available within the food and grocery industry were polarised around working in supermarkets, with little awareness of the breadth of opportunities available.

Joanne Denney-Finch OBE, chief executive of IGD, says, “Despite the UK’s unemployment rate beginning to show some signs of improvement this year, we still have millions of people without work. As the UK’s biggest employer, the food and grocery industry is committed to playing its part in tackling unemployment but more than that, our research shows we need to respond to appeals from our unemployed to gain valuable insight into the roles available in this industry and specific skills required to find jobs in this sector.”

She adds: FeedingBritain’s Future is in its third year and doing very well but our research highlighted the importance of our industry also offering advice before pupils leave school. The new ‘School Pilot’ element of the campaign not only gives companies the opportunity to inspire pupils on the variety of skills and opportunities our industry has to offer, but to also equip the next generation with the skills they need to find work.”

Last year’s nationwide campaign, working with the young unemployed resulted in 97% of participants feeling more confident about applying for a job and 89% more likely to consider a job in the food and grocery industry. Companies taking part in Feeding Britain’s Future Skills for Work Month will, by the end of this year, have offered 40,000 training opportunities for unemployed people across the country since the campaign’s inception.

Companies signed up to this year’s Feeding Britain’s Future campaign include: ASDA Stores Ltd, Bakkavor Group, Britvic Soft Drinks, Campden BRI, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Dairy Crest Group, Greencore Group, Greggs, Hain Daniels Group, KP Snacks, Marks & Spencer, Mars UK, Mondelez International, Moy Park, Muller UK & Ireland Group, Nestle UK, PepsiCo UK & Ireland, Premier Foods Group, Tesco Stores, Tulip, Unilever UK, Warburtons and Wm Morrison Supermarkets.