Thousands of graduate jobs are being created in the UK's food production sector as it seeks to replace its ageing workforce.
This is according to Jack Matthews of Improve, the food and drink sector's skills council, who told the Daily Mirror that employers in the industry are "crying out for ambitious recruits".
"The food and drink industry has shown it is resilient to the recession as people will always need to eat, so there are plenty of career paths offering great opportunities for progression," he explained.
The industry was one of the few to actually increase exports in the first six months of the year. Exports of food and non-alcoholic drinks were up 10.2% to £4.82bn according to new research commissioned by the Food and Drink Federation.
According to the newspaper, there are more than 10,000 food production jobs available at any one time, with a number of varied and specialised vacancies that need filling.
There are opportunities to specialise in a particular skill, meaning that the opportunities for graduate recruitment are numerous.
Jobs range from those in manufacturing, food production and product development to food technology, purchasing and sales and marketing.
Opportunities also exist in smaller firms, which often concentrate on the development of specialist products.
A recent study by Improve predicts that by 2017 the UK's food and drink industry will need to recruit 72,000 new workers to fill technical management, professional and skilled roles, including food scientists and technologists. Mr Matthews said that many people simply did not realise the levels of rewards and security available for skilled workers in the industry.
"Food scientists or technologists, for example, can work in a number of different roles. These are the people who develop low-fat chocolate bars, sweets with no artificial additives and help keep the price of food down by developing more cost-effective recipes for popular foods. They are exciting roles to have, and those who reach the top level can command salaries in excess of £50,000."
With that in mind, this is also an ideal opportunity for people leaving school in 2010 to secure a place on one of the many food related degree courses on offer.
Source: http://www.foodjobblog.com/?gclid=CNDPi6O_l54CFZoU4wodEkBplw