Similar to speed dating, each company moved from table to table to showcase their company, products and locations, according to the food manufacturer.
The 2 Sisters team included head of talent Jenni Chambers and procurement finance administrator Ayesha Khan.
Studying part time to become a qualified accountant, the manufacturer described Khan as “a 2 Sisters success story in the first year of Feeding Britain’s Future back in 2012”.
Accounts payable department
Khan began her career with 2 Sisters after completing a one-week work placement on reception at its Shared Service Centre in Wakefield. A placement in the accounts payable department followed, then a temporary contract before she began full-time employment with the firm.
Speaking at the 100 strong event, Khan said: “I was very nervous about standing up in front of everybody, but I thought it was important to tell people how Feeding Britain’s Future changed everything for me, having been unemployed after college. Thank you 2 Sisters, IGD and Jobcentreplus for the opportunity.”
Geraint Lewis, national employer relationship manager, said: “My colleagues at Jobcentreplus really valued the input and contribution from the companies and the way it was delivered. The ‘speed dating’ approach was really well received with people wanting to contribute to the debate.”
The Food Manufacture Group wants to celebrate the new generation of food and drink manufacturing youngsters with the award of a Young Talent of the Year award.
Part of the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards, the category, like all others, is free to enter and will be made to the individual the judges assess to be the most promising new apprentice or graduate in food and drink manufacture.
Taking over slaughterhouse
Meanwhile, poultry firm One Stop Halal is taking over the 2 Sisters slaughterhouse near Eye, Suffolk, after deciding to close its operations at Letham in Scotland.
Employees at the Eye plant will be transferred to One Stop Halal, which is “a completely separate” firm, a 2 Sisters spokesman told FoodManufacture.co.uk.
2 Sisters boss Ranjit Boparan has an investment in One Stop Halal “as he does with many other businesses that are not part of 2 Sisters,” he added.
The company said in a statement: “Following a strategic review of our poultry processing manufacturing footprint in the UK, the business can announce that it is proposing a transfer of the operation at its site in Eye to another party.”
• Additional reporting Alice Foster