Food and drink manufacturers are missing out on recruiting young talent by failing to promote their industry in schools and colleges, Nestlé apprentice Sam Richards told the HR Forum at trade event Foodex, staged at the NEC.
Sector skills councils (SSCs), including Improve, which represents the food and drink sector, have come under a scathing attack by the head of the Meat Training Council (MTC) for not meeting the needs of the sectors they represent.
Food and drink manufacturers’ “over-reliance” on migrant workers and the challenge of attracting young recruits, were hot topics at Food Manufacture’s HR forum. Here, we capture a flavour – in quotes – of a wide-ranging and, at times, hard-hitting debate.
Two things strike you as soon as you begin to engage Intersnack md Richard Robinson in any conversation about his background. The first is that, although he is relentlessly positive, it is in a way that's not the least bit irritating. His is a quiet,...
Most managers who work in food and drink manufacturing can expect a boost to their salary and bonus this year, according to a survey by recruitment consultant Michael Page.
Few people have been privileged enough to work on some of the UK's highest profile food brands. But Stiletto Foods md Jeremy Woods has sung the praises of products from Wotsits to Pot Noodle in various sales and marketing roles over the years. How...
Prime minister David Cameron’s support for the idea of introducing a quota for women in top business jobs has been rejected by the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink (NSAFD).
Leading manufacturers Britvic and Nestlé have started recruiting for their 2012 apprenticeship programmes in a bid to support the Food and Drink Federation’s (FDF) pledge to double the number of industry trainees by the end of the year.
Britain's food manufacturing sector is facing a potential skills crisis, with an ageing workforce and an image problem that is putting young people off choosing food and drink as a career.
Professor Judy Buttriss knew very early in her career that nutrition was where her heart lay. But these days, as director general of the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF), it's not just nutrition research that puts demands on her time. She has to...
The Paramount 21 story started for me 10 years ago when I was invited down to its former site in Brixham, Devon (I was working for a Marks & Spencer supplier at the time).
The policing of food industry employment standards could suffer if the Gangmasters Licensing Authority's (GLA's) remit widens while its budget is cut, as is feared.
Hartpury College will launch a part-time higher level study skills programme for food industry staff at Foodex 2012, at the NEC in Birmingham from March 25-27.
Details emerged last month of action the food and drink industry is taking to address the impending skills shortage. A staggering 137,000 new recruits are needed to replace people who will be retiring over the next five years. This represents around 34%...
Hugh Darrington, who spent more than 40 years working in the food trade press - including 23 years as editor of Food Manufacture and six years as editor of International Food Ingredients - has spoken candidly about the people, the companies, the products,...
We serve the whole of Great Britain from here and will be looking at a significant uplift in our volume more than 20% to 51M cases next year. It will be the first time our output will have been above 50M cases. The plant will have the capability to produce...
The Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST) is asking for food manufacturers’ help to survey the needs of the 100,000 technicians known to be working in the food sector.
More than 450 top industry executives gathered in London recently for the Food Manufacturing Excellence awards. Here’s a taste of the big night caught on film.
Rumours of a fat tax in the UK to tackle obesity, stirred up by the media on the strength (or weakness) of a throwaway remark by the Prime Minister, have been firmly kicked into touch.
Patrick Coveney, Greencore's chief executive, claims his experiences on the rugby field have helped him formulate his approach to business and heading up the own-label chilled foods firm. That, and almost 10 years with management consultancy McKinsey...
There is just one week to go before the stellar evening when food and drink manufacturers celebrate the best of the best at the Food Manufacturing Excellence Awards.
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is urging food manufacturers to sign up to its apprenticeship pledge and contribute to the growing number of opportunities in the food and drink manufacturing sector.
UK food manufacturing, packaging and processing firms should appeal to the iPod generation to attract the next generation of young talent, according to the PPMA.
Most people would not start a new business in a recession. But Stuart Ferretti, owner and director of The London Fine Meat Company (LFMC) is not most people. In the 12 months since he launched the firm, he has rapidly increased turnover by focusing on...
Grimsby has been associated with fish since Viking days. The first training probably occurred then. Today, it's provided by the Humber Seafood Institute (HSI) part of the Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education.
Samworth Brothers' chief executive Brian Stein will have the satisfaction of looking back on 16 years of successful leadership of the chilled foods manufacturer when he passes on the reins next year. Stein has helped create a hugely successful business,...
I will have been working here four years this autumn. I started as general manager of The Pastry Case, our pastry business, and moved to this role 18 months ago. Prior to that, I worked for Northern Foods for about 13 years, which is where I started:...
Nicola Swann, from Videojet Technologies, has triumphed in the PPMA Show's Ones to Watch awards. The awards recognise promising under 35-year-olds who have made an outstanding contribution to the UK packaging and processing machinery industry.
The FSA says it plans to give no further updates on the case of its board member Dr David Cameron, following the announcement of his resignation on September 1.
The UK food industry should remedy its chronic skills shortage by sponsoring more university students. Jon Poole, chief executive of the Institute of Food Science & Technology, said the move would benefit companies and students alike.
Reconciling retailers' expectations of a constant flow of exciting new products with the constraints of production lines has been a dilemma for plant bakers for many years.
Farley's founded a baker's shop in Plymouth in the 1850s. In the 1880s it began making rusks. In 1962, Glaxo established the Kendal factory alongside the Milk Marketing Board's creamery. It bought the Farley's brand in 1968 and in...
Changes at the top of the UK's biggest food manufacturer, Premier Foods, continue apace as Ian Deste, formerly with Coca-Cola Enterprises, has been appointed group sales director. Deste replaces Ian York, who is to leave at the end of the year.
