Food Job Blog: The inside track on Food Recruitment and Careers

J.D Wetherspoon has this week announced plans to create around 1,000 new food jobs for school leavers.

The national pub chain has over 780 outlets throughout the UK, and school leavers aged 16 and 17 will be hired to work in them as part of the company's plans to expand food job opportunities for young people.

Wetherspoon has said that the new positions will not involve bar work, but food and hot beverage service as well as kitchen work.

The most attractive aspect of the plan for school graduates is that they will have the opportunity to study for qualifications that will help them to progress in the food industry whilst also earning money. The young employees will be encouraged to work towards NVQs, and a professional diploma and honours qualification should they reach management level.

The chain, which already employs approximately 200 young people in food jobs throughout the UK, is planning to create the new positions within a year, and has pledged to pay the new employees more than minimum wage.

Head of personnel and training at J.D. Wetherspoon, Mandy Ferries, has summed up how this new scheme will benefit school leavers, saying:

"We can offer them the chance to study as part of their work as well as progress within the company."

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to hold a meeting over a highly contentious issue this month - whether genetically engineered salmon should be the first animal of its kind to be sold as food.

The results of this consultation will have a significant impact on the food industries of both the UK and the US, as well as for those in food jobs at every stage of the food manufacturing process.

The Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee will convene for the FDA meeting - scheduled to take place on September 19th - 20th 2010 - to review current scientific data and compile recommendations on whether GM salmon is fit for the dinner table. The FDA will also hold a public consultation on the issue on September 21st, which will be crucial to whether plans go ahead.

AquaBounty Technologies Inc

The salmon in question is developed by Massachusetts-based AquaBounty Technologies Inc, who claims that the salmon is able to avoid the disease and pollution commonly associated with salmon raised in fish farms, and can also grow to market size and weight twice as fast.

Opposition

Food safety experts and consumer rights advocates are against the idea of selling GM salmon as food as the side effects of eating the fish are still unknown, and there is no evidence to show that it is safe.

More and more clients are expecting higher and higher ability test scores as their belief in qualifications diminishes. But is this really a fair measure? It seems from our experience that if you practice testing, you get better at it. Online and paper testing seem to give differing scores, and I suppose the question that needs to be asked is what are clients looking for? Are they looking for a standard that is the norm in an organisation, or a wish list? Our view is that these tests do display useful information and highlight areas of importance, and indeed a 2:1 degree is no longer an indicator in isolation of intellect... but is there a better way?

The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) has awarded a £200,000 grant to a burgeoning South Tyneside business, as part of a wider, £1 million project expected to create numerous new food jobs.

The RDPE has awarded the cash to family pork butchers MI Dickson Ltd., in order that the owners may extend their South Shields bakery enterprise. Five new food jobs will be created as a result of the investment, whilst a further 14 will be safeguarded.

MI Dickson Ltd will also be able to use the money in a number of areas to improve the business, including:

• Creating more space
• Reducing congestion
• Improving workflow
• Improving the general working environment for staff
• Reducing double handling

Managing director Michael Dickson has explained how the funding will enable him to diversify the business in order to respond to changing consumer buying and eating habits. He also said:

"Our aim is to increase the market share through further expansion of our wholesale business by exploiting our proven credentials for quality, heritage and local food. We are grateful for the support from the RDPE programme to help us achieve our aims."

Following the announcement in May 2010 that Asda is to buy Netto's UK operations in a deal reported to be worth around £778, the company is now awaiting approval from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in order to go ahead with the takeover.

Whilst waiting for OFT approval to take over all 193 Netto stores- expected to be delivered by the end of September - Asda has already submitted planning applications for the conversion of several of Netto's outlets into smaller Asda stores.

Asda is currently missing out on the 'small stores' market, only having around 10 to 15 smaller supermarkets in the UK. The company is hoping to significantly expand into this market.

Speaking of the deal, an Asda spokesperson has explained the company's goals for the new small stores, if OFT approval comes through. First on the agenda is the creation of new food jobs:

"What I can say is that at a store level, we have a good track record of growing the number of colleagues (staff) in smaller stores we have already acquired from the Co-op and we see no reason why that wouldn't be the case in this instance.

"We anticipate we'll create up to twice as many jobs in each store converted to an Asda."

At Focus Management Consultants we have embraced Social Media and have certainly seen positive results. But equally we tread carefully into this new mass of activity and initiatives.

Indeed we have some clients who ban facebook pages for their company and many are cautious of the bad press and comment that might come their way from disgruntled employees past and present. However the more enlightened view seems to be that it's happening anyway ... so get on with it, accept that not everyone will be your biggest fan, and when criticised you have a chance to respond.

It is also interesting to see the legality of Social Media sites. Should you check facebook and make recruitment decisions, or indeed discipline someone who had a Monday off and had written they had been on the town all weekend? The point is, we have to accept we are not 'hidden' anymore; we can all be found - yes we can all find out which street we all live on and with whom. So maybe we need to accept it and realise this is a key piece of the modern business world.

Lunch! is an annual trade event aimed at anyone and everyone in the rapidly expanding food-to-go industry - estimated to now be worth £6 billion in the UK - and the organisers have announced that registration for Lunch! 2010 has now opened.

The event runs from September 30th until October 1st at Old Billingsgate in London, with around 100 exhibitors from every branch of the food-to-go sector in attendance. These manufacturers and supplier will be showcasing new food and drink products, technology and services including:

• Food ingredients
• Coffee and tea
• Specialty breads
• Packaging
• Signage
• Information technology

In addition to the main exhibition, Lunch! 2010 also boasts two education theatres, a new products showcase, business seminars, live demonstrations and new for this year, the Innovation Challenge 2010. This is a new awards scheme which aims to celebrate innovation within the food-to-go-sector.

If you are in a decision-making food job within this growing industry, then Lunch! 2010 is a must-attend, either as a visitor or an exhibitor. The event connects you directly with suppliers, allows you to network and gain insights into the latest innovations in the food-to-go sector.

Yes, that's right, the food and drink sector is absolutely 100% ageist! Or to be correct ageing. Over 25% of management in the Food and Drink industry retires in the next five years and the talent required to plug these gaps is just not coming through. Why is this so? Do people not recognise the food industry as having great future prospects and career opportunities?

To add to this, the number of new entrants onto food related degree courses continues to cause concern as the pipeline for new graduates and talent is disappearing. Not everyone can go into media studies!

UK scientists have recently reported an important breakthrough which could help to allay national fears over a future food shortage.

Wheat, one of the most important staples in the European diet, is in short supply at the moment as a number of countries have banned its export.

One of the biggest producers of wheat, Russia, has suffered severe droughts and wildfires in recent months, resulting in a reduced yield of crops. Floods in Pakistan and mudslides in China have had the same effect, serving to drive wheat prices higher. All of this has prompted worldwide worries about potential wheat shortages in the future.

Breakthrough

Scientists in the UK have now released draft sequences of the wheat genome, which they believe could be used to increase wheat yields and help farmers to develop new strains. These new strains are essential to securing wheat security, as Mike Bevan, director of the John Innes centre, explains:

"Such varieties are crucial to meet increased demand from growing and more prosperous populations, confront the challenges of climate change and looming scarcities of land, water, and fertiliser, and avoid global food shortages and price spikes that particularly harm the poor,"

Health, safety and quality control are essential elements of any food manufacturing business, which is why so much time and money is dedicated to training people in these specialist and very important food jobs.

However, public health expert Julie Barratt has said that businesses in Wales are increasingly cutting down on health and safety training in an attempt to save money. Barratt, the director of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Wales (CIEH), has warned that this worrying situation could lead to what she calls a "food poisoning time bomb".

Barratt conducted a survey of 5,000 CIEH trainers, and found that around half believed that the current economic climate was negatively affecting food safety training in businesses. 'Cost-cutting' was identified as the main reason for lack of investment in training by 70 per cent of experts surveyed.

Barratt issued a public health warning on the back of the survey results, saying:

"The economic downturn has meant many businesses have had to rein in spending, which is understandable, but quality training needs to be seen as an investment which protects your staff, your business and your company's reputation. A food poisoning outbreak can be the death knell for a food business and can have a myriad of consequences from reputational damage to business failure."