Positions are open across all operational functions including production, technical, engineering, planning and stores.
Previously operating five days a week, the Dudley plant has been running seven days a week, following a huge increase in consumer demand.
Production records have been smashed, with the factory producing hundreds of thousands more product units than in 2020. Production capacity has leapt up by 30%, and with the summer months particularly busy for Avara Dudley handling seasonal barbecue foods, more dedicated colleagues were required to help it keep pace, the company said.
It had been recruiting for 130 new permanent roles in recent weeks, and it claimed there were still many great opportunities available.
COVID-19 safety and compliance
COVID-19 safety and compliance is a key influence on Avara at this time. The business invested more than £6m in protective measures across its UK-wide operations to keep colleagues safe during the pandemic. These include screens and curtains installed along production lines to create physical barriers, floor markers in shared spaces to aid social distancing, and staggered shift start and finish times to reduce the number of colleagues coming into contact with one another.
Canteens and break areas have spaced-out seating and perspex dividers, additional cleaning regimes have been implemented in high-traffic areas and more hand sanitising stations installed across all sites.
Temperature checking of visitors and new starters and daily random temperature checking, along with a company-wide face covering policy have all been rolled out. The company’s sickness policy has been amended in light of the pandemic too, to ensure those required to self-isolate are not unfairly disadvantaged.
'Commitment to the area'
“We’re well-established here in Dudley, and this latest recruitment drive is evidence of our ongoing commitment to the area," said Mick Hillson, site manager at Avara Foods in Dudley.
"Our factory is very important to Avara’s wider operations, and I’m pleased we’re expanding. We understand many people are facing uncertainty but want them to know with a variety of full and part-time positions, both permanent and temporary situations and a broad spectrum of roles available, we’re a local employer they can look to for a new opportunity.”